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DAYBREAK 

A  ROMANCE  OF  AN  OLD  WORLD 


■>-;-^ 


■■■^-ir- 

samm 


^ 


"HE    MADE    THE   STAKS    ALSO." 


DAYBREAK 


A  ROMANCE  OF  AN  OLD  WORLD 


By  JAMES    COWAN 


WITH   DRAWINGS  BY 

WALTER   C.  GREENOUGH 


NEW   YORK 

GEORGE   H.  RICHMOND  &  CO. 
1896 


Copyright,  1896,  bv 
GEORGE  H.  RICHMOND  &  CO. 


Press  of  J.  J.  Little  &  Co. 
Astor  Place,  New  York 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

PAGE 

An  Astronomer  Royal, i 

CHAPTER    II. 
A  Fallen  Satellite, 12 

CHAPTER    III. 
Two  Men  in  the  Moon, 20 

CHAPTER    IV. 
And  One  Woman 30 

CHAPTER   V. 
Our  Introduction  to  Mars, 44 

CHAPTER   VI. 
A  Remarkable  People 53 

CPIAPTER   VII. 
Rapid  Transit  on  Mars, 66 

CHAPTER    VIII. 
Thorwald  Puzzled, 73 

CHAPTER   IX. 
Thorwald  as  a  Prophet, 80 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    X. 

PAGE 

More  Worlds  than  Two, 86 

CHAPTER    XL 
Mars  as  It  Is, 93 

CHAPTER   XII, 
We  Reach  Thorwald's  Home, 102 

CHAPTER   XIII. 
A  Morning  Talk, no 

CHAPTER    XIV. 
Proctor  Shows  us  the  Earth, 116 

CHAPTER   XV. 
A  Night  Adventure, 121 

CHAPTER   XVI. 
An  Unlikely  Story, 131 

CHAPTER   XVII, 
The  Doctor  is  Convinced, 139 

CHAPTER    XVIII. 
Struck  by  a  Comet, 149 

CHAPTER    XIX. 
I  Discover  the  Singer, 156 

CHAPTER    XX. 
A  Wonderful  Revelation, 167 


CONTENTS.  vn 

CHAPTER    XXI. 

PAGE 

A  Little  Ancient  History 176 

CHAPTER    XXII. 
Again  the  Moon, 183 

CHAPTER    XXIII. 
We  Search  for  Mona,  .         .        .   ■ 198 

CHAPTER    XXIV. 
The  Picture  Telegraph, 213 

CHAPTER   XXV. 
An  Unsatisfactory  Lover, 224 

CHAPTER    XXVI. 
An  Enviable  Condition, 232 

CHAPTER    XXVII. 
The  Children's  Day, 245 

CHAPTER    XXVIII. 
Business  Ethics, 250 

CHAPTER    XXIX. 
The  Industrial  Problem, 257 

CHAPTER    XXX. 
Attempts  to  Solve  the  Problem,        271 

CHAPTER    XXXI. 
Wine-drinking  in  Mars, 279 


Vlll  CONTKNIS. 

CHAPTER    XXXII. 

PAGE 

A  Genuine  Accident, 289 

CHAPTER    XXXIII. 
TiiK  Emancii'Atiun  uf  Woman, 302 

CHAPTER    XXXIV. 
The  Emancipation  of  Man, 321 

CHAPTER    XXXV. 
An  Exalted  Theme 336 

CHAPTER    XXXVI. 
Vanquished  Again  by  a  Vo;ce 346 

CHAPTER    XXXVII. 
Until  the  Day  Break, 360 

CHAI'TER    XXXVIII. 
And  the  Shadows  Flee  Away 372 

CHAPTER    XXXIX. 
A  Sudden  Return  to  the  Earih, 380 

POSTSCRIPT 396 


DAYBREAK: 

A    ROMANCE   OF    AN    OLD    WORLD, 


CHAPTER   L 

AN    ASTRONOMER    ROYAL. 

It  was  an  evening  in  early  autumn  in  the  last  year  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  We  were  nearing  the  close  of  a  voy- 
age as  calm  and  peaceful  as  our  previous  lives. 

Margaret  had  been  in  Europe  a  couple  of  years  and  I  had 
just  been  over  to  bring  her  home,  and  we  were  now  expect- 
ing to  reach  New  York  in  a  day  or  two. 

Margaret  and  I  were  the  best  of  friends.  Indeed,  we 
had  loved  each  other  from  our  earliest  recollection.  No 
formal  words  of  betrothal  had  ever  passed  between  us,  but 
for  years  we  had  spoken  of  our  future  marriage  as  natu- 
rally as  if  we  were  the  most  regularly  engaged  couple  in 
the  world. 

'•Walter,"  asked  Margaret  in  her  impulsive  way,  "at 
what  temperature  does  mercury  melt  ?  " 

"Well,  to  hazard  a  guess,"  I  replied,  "I  should  say 
about  one  degree  above  its  freezing  point.  Why,  do  you 
think  of  making  an  experiment?  " 

"Yes,  on  you.  And  I  am  going  to  begin  by  being  very 
frank  with  you.  You  have  made  me  a  number  of  hurried 
visits  during  my  stay  in  Europe,  but  we  have  seen  more  of 


2  DAYBREAK, 

each  other  in  the  course  of  this  voyage  than  for  two  long 
years.  I  trust  you  will  not  be  offended  when  I  say  I 
hoped  to  find  you  changed.  I  have  never  spoken  to  you 
about  this,  even  in  my  letters,  and  it  is  only  because  I  am 
a  little  older  now,  and  because  my  love  for  you  has 
increased  with  every  day  of  life,  that  I  have  the  courage  to 
frame  these  words." 

"Do  tell  me  what  it  is,"  I  exclaimed,  thoroughly 
alarmed  at  her  serious  manner.  "Let  me  know  how  I 
have  disappointed  you  and  I  will  make  what  amends  I  can. 
Tell  me  the  nature  of  the  change  you  have  been  looking 
for  and  I  will  begin  the  transformation  at  once,  before  my 
character  becomes  fixed. ' ' 

"  Alas  !  and  if  it  should  be  already  fixed,"  she  replied, 
without  a  smile.  "  Perhaps  it  is  unreasonable  in  me  to 
expect  it  in  you  as  a  man,  when  you  had  so  little  of  it  as  a 
boy  ;  but  I  used  to  think  it  was  only  shyness  then,  and  always 
hoped  you  would  outgrow  that  and  gradually  become  an 
ideal  lover.  You  have  such  a  multitude  of  other  perfec- 
tions, however,  that  it  may  be  nature  has  denied  you  this  so 
that  I  may  be  reminded  that  you  are  human.  If  the  choice 
had  been  left  with  me  I  think  I  should  have  preferred  to 
leave  out  some  other  quality  in  the  make-up  of  your  charac- 
ter, good  as  they  all  are." 

"What  bitter  pill  is  this,"  I  asked,  "that  you  are 
sugar-coating  to  such  an  extent?  I^on't  you  see  that  I  am 
aching  to  begin  the  improvement  in  my  manners,  as  soon 
as  ycu  point  out  the  direction?  " 

"  You  must  know  what  I  mean  from  my  first  abrupt  ques- 
tion," she  answered.  "  To  make  an  extreme  comparison, 
frozen  mercury  is  warm  beside  you,  Walter.  If  you  are 
really  to  be  loyal  knight  of  mine  I  must  send  you  on  a 
quest  for  your  heart." 


AN    ASTRONOMER    ROYAL.  3 

"  xAih,  I  supposed  it  was  understood  that  I  had  given  it 
to  you." 

"  I  have  never  seen  it,"  she  continued,  "  and  you  have 
never  before  said  as  much  as  is  contained  in  those  last 
words.  Here  we  are,  talking  of  many  things  we  shall  do 
after  we  are  married,  and  yet  you  have  nothing  to  say  of  all 
that  wonderful  and  beautiful  world  of  romance  that  ought 
to  come  before  marriage.  Is  this  voyage  to  come  to  an  end 
and  mean  no  more  to  us  than  to  these  hundreds  of  passen- 
gers around  us,  who  seem  only  intent  to  get  back  to  their 
work  at  the  earliest  possible  moment?  And  is  our  wedding 
day  to  approach  and  pass  and  be  looked  upon  merely  as 
part  of  the  necessary  and  becoming  business  of  our  lives? 
In  short,  am  I  never  to  hear  a  real  love  note?  " 

"  Margaret,  I  have  a  sister.  You  know  something  of  the 
depth  of  my  affection  for  her.  When  I  meet  her  in  New 
York  to-morrow  or  next  day,  if  I  should  throw  my  arms 
around  her  neck  and  exclaim,  in  impassioned  tones,  '  My 
sister,  I  love  you,'  what  would  she  think  of  me?  " 

*'  She  would  think  you  had  left  your  senses  on  the  other 
side,"  replied  Margaret,  laughing.  "  But  I  decline  to 
accept  the  parallel.  I  have  not  given  up  my  heart  to  your 
keeping  these  many  years  to  be  only  a  sister  to  you  at  last." 

"  But  my  mother  !  Is  it  possible  forme  to  love  you  more 
than  my  mother  loved  me?  And  yet  I  never  heard  her 
speak  one  word  on  the  subject,  and,  now  that  I  think  of  it, 
I  am  not  sure  but  words  would  have  cheapened  her  affec- 
tion in  my  mind.     You  do  not  doubt  me,  Margaret?  " 

"  No  more  than  you  doubted  your  mother,  although  she 
never  told  her  love.  No,  it  is  not  so  serious  as  that  ;  but  I 
wish  you  were  more  demonstrative,  Walter." 

"  \\'hat,  in  words?  Isn't  there  something  that  speaks 
louder  than  words?  " 


4  DAYBREAK. 

"  Yes,  but  let  us  hear  the  words,  too.  There  is  a  beauti- 
ful proverb  in  India  which  says,  '  Words  are  the  daughters 
of  earth  and  deeds  are  the  sons  of  heaven.'  That  is  true, 
but  let  us  not  try  to  pass  through  life  without  enjoying  the 
company  of  some  of  the  '  daughters  of  earth.'  " 

"  I  will  confess  this  much,  Margaret,  that  your  words  are 
one  of  your  principal  charms." 

"  Oh,  do  you  really  think  so?  I  consider  that  a  great 
compliment  from  you,  for  I  have  often  tried  to  repress 
myself,  fearing  that  my  impulsive  and  sometimes  passionate 
speech  would  offend  your  taste,  you  who  are  outwardly  so 
cold.  Do  you  know,  I  have  a  whole  vocabulary  of  endearing 
terms  ready  to  be  poured  into  your  ears  as  soon  as  you 
begin  to  give  me  encouragement?  " 

*'  Then  teach  me  how  to  encourage  you,  and  I  will  cer- 
tainly begin  at  once.  Shall  we  seek  some  retired  spot, 
where  we  can  be  free  from  observation,  and  then  shall  I 
seize  your  hand,  fall  on  my  knees,  and,  in  vehement  and 
extravagant  words,  declare  a  passion  which  you  already 
know  I  have,  just  as  well  as  you  know  I  am  breathing  at 
this  moment?  " 

"  (jood  !  "  cried  Margaret.  "  That's  almost  as  fine  as 
the  real  scene.  So  you  have  a  passion  for  me.  I  really 
think  you  are  improving." 

Before  going  on  with  this  conversation,  let  me  tell  you  a 
little  more  about  Margaret  and  my  relations  to  her. 

There  was  good  cause  for  her  complaint.  I  was  at  that 
time  a  sort  of  animated  icicle,  as  far  as  my  emotional  nature 
was  concerned.  But  although  I  could  not  express  my  feel- 
ings to  Margaret  in  set  phrase,  I  do  not  mind  saying  to  you 
that  I  loved  her  dearly,  or  thought  I  did,  which  was  the  same 
thing  for  the  time  being.  I  loved  her  as  well  as  I  was 
capable  of  loving  anybody.     What  I  lacked  Margaret  more 


AN    ASTRONOMER    ROYAL.  5 

than  made  up,  for  she  was  the  warmest-hearted  creature  in 
all  the  world.  If  I  should  begin  to  enumerate  her  perfec- 
tions of  person  and  character  I  should  never  care  to  stop. 

Her  educational  advantages  had  been  far  above  the  aver- 
age, and  she  had  improved  them  in  a  manner  to  gratify  her 
friends  and  create  for  herself  abundant  mental  resources. 
She  had  taken  the  full  classical  course  at  Harvard,  carrying 
off  several  of  the  high  prizes,  had  then  enjoyed  two  years 
of  post-graduate  work  at  Clark,  and  had  finally  spent  two 
more  years  in  foreign  travel  and  study.  As  has  been  inti- 
mated, I  had  been  over  for  her,  and  we  were  now  on  our  way 
home,  expecting  to  land  on  the  morrov/  or  the  day  after. 

It  you  imagine  that  Margaret  had  lost  anything  by  her 
education  or  was  less  fitted  to  make  a  good  home,  it  is 
because  you  never  knew  her.  Instead  of  being  stunted  in  her 
growth,  broken  in  constitution,  round-shouldered,  pale-faced 
and  weak-eyed,  the  development  of  her  body  had  kept  pace 
with  the  expansion  of  her  mind,  and  she  was  now  in  the 
perfect  flower  of  young  womanhood,  with  body  and  soul 
both  of  generous  mold.  Her  marvelous  beauty  had  been 
refined  and  heightened  by  her  intellectual  culture,  and  even 
her  manners,  so  charming  before,  were  now  more  than  ever 
the  chaste  and  well-ordered  adornments  of  a  noble  char- 
acter. She  was  as  vivacious  and  sparkling  as  if  she  had 
never  known  the  restraints  of  school,  but  without  extrava- 
gance of  any  kind  to  detract  from  her  self-poise.  In  short, 
she  was  a  symphony,  a  grand  and  harmonious  composition, 
and  still  human  enough  to  love  a  mortal  like  me. 

Such  was  the  woman  who  was  trying  to  instill  into  my 
wooing  a  little  of  the  warmth  and  sympathy  of  her  de- 
lightful nature. 

As  for  myself,  it  will  be  necessary  to  mention  only  a 
single  characteristic.     I  had  a  remarkably  good  ear,  as  we 


6  DAYBREAK. 

say.  Not  only  was  my  sense  of  hearing  unusually  acute, 
but  I  had  an  almost  abnormal  appreciation  of  musical 
sounds.  Although  without  the  ability  to  sing  or  play  and 
without  the  habit  of  application  necessary  to  learn  these 
accomplishments,  I  was,  from  my  earliest  years,  a  great 
lover  of  music.  People  who  are  born  without  the  power  of 
nicely  discriminating  between  sounds  often  say  they  enjoy 
music,  but  these  excellent  people  do  not  begin  to  under- 
stand the  intense  pleasure  with  which  one  listens,  whose 
auricular  ner^^es  are  more  highly  developed.  But  this  rare 
and  soul-stirring  enjoyment  is  many  times  accompanied,  as 
in  my  case,  with  acute  suffering  whenever  the  tympanum  is 
made  to  resound  with  the  slightest  discord.  The  most 
painful  moments  of  my  life,  physically  speaking,  have  been 
those  in  which  I  have  been  forced  to  listen  to  diabolical 
noises.  A  harsh,  rasping  sound  has  often  given  me  a  pang 
more  severe  than  neuralgia,  while  even  an  uncultivated 
voice  or  an  instrument  out  of  tune  has  jarred  on  my  sensi- 
tive nerves  for  hours. 

My  musical  friends  all  hated  me  in  their  hearts,  for  my 
peculiarity  made  me  a  merciless  critic;  and  the  most  seri- 
ous youthful  quarrel  between  Margaret  and  myself  arose 
from  the  same  cause.  Nature  had  given  Margaret  a  voice 
of  rare  sweetness  and  a  fine  musical  taste,  and  her  friends 
had  encouraged  her  in  singing  from  her  youth.  One  day, 
before  she  had  received  much  instruction,  she  innocently 
asked  me  to  listen  to  a  song  she  was  studying,  when  1  was 
cruel  enough  to  laugh  at  her  and  ridicule  the  idea  of  her 
ever  learning  to  sing  correctly.  This  rudeness  made  such  an 
impression  on  her  girlish  mind  that,  although  she  forgave 
the  offense  and  continued  to  love  the  offender,  she  could 
never  be  induced  again  to  try  her  vocal  powers  before  me. 
All  through  her  school  and  college  days  she  devoted  some 


AN    ASTRONOMER    ROYAL.  7 

attention  to  music,  and  while  I  heard  from  others  much 
about  her  advancement  and  the  extraordinary  quality  of  her 
voice,  she  always  declared  she  would  never  sing  for  me  until 
she  was  sure  she  could  put  me  to  shame  for  my  early  indis- 
cretion, so  painfully  present  in  her  memory.  This  became 
in  time  quite  a  feature  of  our  long  courtship,  for  I  was 
constantly  trying  to  have  her  break  her  foolish  resolution 
and  let  me  hear  her.  Although  unsuccessful,  the  situation 
was  not  without  a  pleasurable  interest  for  me,  for  I  knew  it 
must  end  some  time,  and  in  a  way,  no  doubt,  to  give  me 
great  enjoyment,  judging  from  the  accounts  which  came  to 
my  ears.  Margaret,  too,  was  well  satisfied  to  let  the  affair 
drift  along  indefinitely,  while  she  anticipated  with  delight 
the  surprise  she  was  preparing  for  me. 

During  the  years  she  had  just  been  spending  abroad  a 
good  share  of  her  time  had  been  given  to  her  musical  stud- 
ies, principally  vocal  culture,  and  in  her  letters  she  provok- 
ingly  quoted,  for  my  consideration,  the  flattering  comments 
of  her  instructors  and  other  acquaintances.  She  did  this 
as  part  of  my  punishment,  trying  to  make  me  realize 
how  much  pleasure  I  was  losing.  Each  time  I  crossed  the 
ocean  to  visit  her  I  expected  she  would  relent,  but  I  was  as 
often  disappointed ;  and  now  this  homeward  voyage  had 
almost  come  to  an  end,  and  I  had  never  heard  her  voice  in 
song  since  she  was  a  child.  Open  and  unreserved  as  she 
was  by  nature,  in  this  particular  she  had  schooled  herself  to 
be  as  reticent  and  undemonstrative  as  she  accused  me  of 
being. 

Our  talk  on  the  subject  of  my  shortcomings,  that  evening 
on  shipboard,  had  not  continued  much  longer  before  I 
acknowledged  in  plain  language  that  I  knew  my  fault  and 
was  ready  to  cooperate  in  any  scheme  that  could  be  sug- 
gested to  cure  it. 


8  DAYBREAK. 

"  What  you  need,"  said  Margaret,  "  is  some  violent  sen- 
sation, some  extraordinary  experience  to  stir  your  soul." 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  my  humdnun  life,  my  wealth, 
which  came  to  me  without  any  efifort  of  my  own,  and  the 
hitherto  almost  unruffled  character  of  my  relations  with  you 
have  all  conspired  to  make  me  satisfied  with  an  easy  and 
rather  indolent  existence.  I  realize  I  need  a  shaking  up. 
I  want  to  forget  myself  in  some  novel  experience,  which 
shall  engross  all  my  attention  for  a  time  and  draw  upon 
my  sympathies  if  I  have  any. 

*'  But  what  can  one  do  in  '  this  weak  piping  time  of 
peace  '  ?  There  are  no  maidens  to  be  rescued  from  the 
enchantments  of  the  wizard,  and  it  is  no  longer  the  fashion 
,to  ride  forth  with  sword  and  halberd  to  murder  in  the  name 
of  honor  all  who  oppose  themselves.  No  more  dark  con- 
tinents wait  to  be  explored,  neither  is  there  novelty  left  in 
searching  the  ocean's  depths  nor  in  sailing  the  sky  above 
us.  Civilized  warfare  itself,  the  only  field  remaining  where 
undying  fame  may  be  purchased,  seems  likely  to  lose  its 
hold  on  men,  and  soon  the  arbitrator  will  everywhere 
replace  the  commander-in-chief  and  the  noble  art  of  war 
will  degenerate  into  the  ignoble  lawsuit.  So  even  univer- 
sal peace  may  have  its  drawbacks." 

"  That  is  quite  sufficient  in  that  line,"  said  Margaret. 
**  Now  let  us  come  down  to  something  practicable." 

"  Well,  I  might  bribe  the  pilot  to  sink  the  steamer  when 
we  are  going  up  the  bay,  so  that  I  could  have  the  opportu- 
nity of  saving  your  life." 

"  It  would  be  almost  worth  the  trial  if  it  were  not  for  the 
other  people,"  she  returned.  "  Such  a  role  would  become 
you  immensely." 

"  I  regret  that  I  cannot  accommodate  you,"  I  said. 
"  But  1  have  thought  of  something  which  would  be  rather 


AN    ASTRONOMER    ROYAL.  9 

safer  for  you.  How  would  you  like  to  have  me  fall  desper- 
ately in  love  with  some  pretty  girl?  " 

"Just  the  thing,"  exclaimed  Margaret,  laughing  and 
clapping  her  hands,  "if  you  can  only  be  sure  she  will  not 
return  your  passion." 

"  Small  chance  of  that,"  I  answered.  "  So  you  approve 
the  plan,  do  you?  " 

"  Certainly,  if  you  care  to  try  it.  Lady  never  held  knight 
against  his  will.  But  have  you  forgotten  that,  after  the 
resources  of  this  planet  are  exhausted,  as  you  seem  to  think 
they  are  soon  likely  to  be,  you  and  I  have  other  worlds  to 
conquer?  Perhaps  in  that  work  you  may  find  diversion 
powerful  enough  to  draw  you  out  of  yourself  and,  possibly, 
opportunities  for  some  heart  culture." 

I  must  explain  that  this  was  a  reference  to  a  plan  of  life 
we  were  marking  out  for  ourselves.  Margaret  was  an  enthusi- 
ast on  the  subject  of  astronomy.  I  would  include  myself  in 
the  same  remark,  only  the  word  enthusiast  did  not  fit  my 
temperament  at  that  time.  But  our  tastes  agreed  perfectly 
in  that  matter,  and  we  had  always  read  with  avidity  every- 
thing we  could  find  on  the  subject.  Margaret,  however,  was 
the  student,  and  as  she  had  developed  great  proficiency  in 
mathematics,  she  had  decided  to  make  astronomy  her  pro- 
fession. 

It  was  understood  that  I  was  to  perform  the  easier  part  of 
furnishing  the  money  for  an  obsen-atory  and  instruirients  of 
our  own,  and  I  was  determined  to  keep  pace  with  Margaret 
in  her  studies  as  well  as  I  could  in  an  amateurish  way,  so 
that  she  might  be  able  to  retain  me  as  an  assistant.  We 
were  to  be  married  at  sunrise  sharp,  on  the  first  day  of  the 
next  century,  and  to  lay  the  comer-stone  of  our  observatory 
at  the  exact  moment  of  the  summer  solstice  of  the  same 
year.     These  were  Margaret's  suggestions,  but  even  I  was 


lO  DAYBREAK. 

not  averse  to  letting  my  friends  see  I  had  a  little  senti- 
ment. 

That  night  I  dreamed  of  almost  everything  we  had 
been  talking  about,  but  lay  awake  at  intervals,  wondering 
if  I  could,  by  force  of  will,  work  out  the  reform  in  my  char- 
acter which  Margaret  desired.  The  night  passed,  and  it  was 
just  as  I  was  rising  that  a  thought  flashed  upon  me  which  I 
determined  to  put  into  execution  at  the  first  opportunity. 
This  came  early  the  next  evening.  .'^s  we  expected  to 
reach  our  wharf  soon,  we  had  finished  our  packing,  and  were 
now  sitting  alone  in  a  retired  si)ot  on  deck  on  the  starboard 
side.  As  soon  as  we  were  comfortably  arranged  I  said  to 
my  companion  : 

"Margaret,  as  this  is  the  last  evening  of  this  voyage,  it 
makes  an  epoch  in  our  lives.  Your  school  days  are  now 
over,  and  henceforth  we  hope  to  be  together.  Would  not 
this  be  a  most  appropriate  time  for  me  to  be  introduced  to 
a  voice  with  which  I  propose  to  spend  the  rest  of  my  life? 
Last  night  you  were  anxious  to  think  of  something  which 
would  arouse  my  dormant  heart  and  draw  out  in  more  pas- 
sionate expression  my  too  obscure  affections.  Your  words 
haunted  my  sleeping  and  waking  thoughts  until  it  fortunately 
occurred  to  me  that  you  yourself  had  the  \ery  means  for 
accom])lishing  my  reformation.  You  know  how  impression- 
able I  am  to  every  wave  of  sound.  Who  knows  but  your  \oice, 
which  I  am  sure  will  be  the  sweetest  in  the  world  to  me, 
may  be  the  instrument  destined  to  stir  my  drowsy  soul,  to 
loose  my  halting  tongue,  and  even  to  force  my  proud  knees 
to  bend  before  you?  In  short,  why  not  adopt  my  sugges- 
tion, break  your  long-kept  resolution,  and  sing  for  me  this 
moment?     Is  the  possible  result  not  worth  the  trial?  " 

To  this  long  address,  which  was  a  great  effort  for  me, 
Margaret  answered : 


AN    ASTROiMOMER    ROVAL.  II 

"  You  surprise  me  already,  Walter.  If  the  mere  thought 
of  hearing  me  sing  can  prompt  such  a  sentimental  speech  as 
that,  what  would  the  song  itself  do?  Perhaps  it  would 
drive  you  to  the  other  extreme,  and  you  would  become 
gushing.  Just  think  of  that.  But,  seriously,  I  am  afraid 
you  would  laugh  at  my  voice  and  send  me  back  to  Germany. 
When  you  were  talking  I  thought  I  could  detect  an  under- 
current of  fun  in  your  words." 

"  I  assure  you  I  was  never  more  in  earnest  in  my  life,  and 
I  am  sorry  you  will  not  sing.      Is  your  answer  final  ?  " 

"  I  think  I  will  wait  a  little  longer.  We  are  liable  to  be 
disturbed  here.  And  now  that  you  have  made  a  start,  per- 
haps you  will  improve  in  manners  becoming  a  lover  without 
any  more  help." 

"  No,  I  shall  relapse  and  be  worse  than  ever.  Now  is 
your  time  to  help  me  find  my  heart." 

Without  answering,  Margaret  sprang  up  impulsively,  ex- 
claiming : 

"  There  !  I  have  forgotten  that  book  the  professor  bor- 
rowed. Men  never  return  anything.  I  must  go  and  get  it, 
and  put  it  into  my  bag.  And  I  had  better  run  down  and 
see  if  auntie  wants  anything.  You  stay  right  here  ;  don't 
move,  and  I'll  be  back  in  just  three  minutes." 


CHAPTER   11. 


A    FALLEN    SATELLITE. 


I  PROMISED,  and  then  settled  myself  more  comfortably 
into  my  steamer  chair  to  await  Margaret's  return.  The 
three  minutes  passed,  and  she  did  not  come.  Evidently  it 
was  hard  to  find  the  professor,  or  perhaps  he  was  holding 
her,  against  her  will,  for  a  discussion  of  the  book.  At  any 
rate,  I  could  do  nothing  but  sit  there,  in  that  easy,  half- 
reclining  position,  and  watch  the  full  moon,  which  had  just 
risen,  and  was  shining  square  in  my  face,  if  that  could  be 
said  of  an  object  that  looked  so  round. 

I  fell  into  a  deep  reverie.  My  mind  was  filled  with  con- 
tending emotions,  and  such  opposing  objects  as  rolling 
worlds  and  lovely  maidens  flitted  in  dim  images  across  my 
mental  vision.  I  loved  the  best  woman  on  the  earth,  and 
I  wondered  if  any  of  those  other  globes  contained  her 
equal.  If  so,  then  perhaps  some  other  man  was  as  fortunate 
as  myself.  1  was  drowsy,  but  determined  to  keep  awake 
and  ])ursue  this  fancy.  I  remember  feeling  confident  that 
I  could  not  sleep  if  I  only  kept  my  eyes  open,  and  so  I  said 
I  would  keep  them  fixed  on  the  bright  face  of  the  moon. 
But  how  large  it  looked.  Surely  something  must  be  wTong 
with  it,  or  was  it  my  memory  that  was  at  fault?  I  thought 
the  moon  generally  appeared  smaller  as  it  rose  further 
above  the  horizon,  but  now  it  was  growing  bigger  every 
minute.     It  was  coming  nearer,  too.     Nearer,  larger — why. 


A    FALLEN    SATELLITE.  I3 

it  was  monstrous.  I  could  not  turn  my  eyes  away  now,  and 
everything  else  was  forgotten,  swallowed  up  in  that  one 
awful  sight.  How  fast  it  grew.  Now  it  fills  half  the  sky 
and  makes  me  tremble  with  fear.  Part  of  it  is  still  lighted 
by  the  sun,  and  part  is  in  dark,  threatening  shadow.  I  see 
pale  faces  around  me.  Others  are  gazing,  awe-stricken, 
at  the  same  object.  We  are  in  the  open  street,  and  some 
have  glasses,  peering  into  the  deep  craters  and  caverns  of 
the  surface. 

I  seemed  to  be  a  new-comer  on  the  scene,  and  could  not 
help  remarking  to  my  nearest  neighbor : 

"  This  is  a  strange  sight.  Do  you  think  it  is  real,  or  are 
we  all  bereft  of  our  senses  ?  ' ' 

*'  Strange  indeed,  but  true,"  he  answered. 

"But  what  does  it  mean?"  And  then,  assuming  a 
gayety  I  did  not  feel,  I  asked  further:  "  Does  the  moon, 
too,  want  to  be  annexed  to  the  United  States?  " 

"You  speak  lightly,  young  man,"  my  neighbor  said, 
"and  do  not  appear  to  realize  the  seriousness  of  our  situation. 
Where  have  you  been,  that  you  have  not  heard  this  matter 
discussed,  and  do  not  understand  that  the  moon  is  certain 
to  come  into  collision  with  the  earth  in  a  very  short  time?  " 

He  seemed  thoroughly  alarmed,  and  I  soon  found  that  all 
the  people  shared  his  feeling.  The  movement  of  the  earth 
carried  us  out  of  sight  of  the  moon  in  a  few  hours,  but 
after  a  brief  rest  everybody  was  on  the  watch  again  at  the 
next  revolution.  The  excitement  over  the  behavior  of  our 
once  despised  moon  increased  rapidly  from  this  time. 
Nothing  else  was  talked  of,  business  was  well-nigh  sus- 
pended, and  the  newspapers  neglected  everything  else  to 
tell  about  the  unparalleled  natural  phenomenon.  Specu- 
lation was  rife  as  to  what  would  be  the  end,  and  what 
effect  would  follow  a  union  of  the  earth  v,-ith  its  satellite. 


14  DAYBREAK. 

While  this  discussion  was  going  on,  the  unwelcome  visitor 
was  approaching  with  noticeable  rapidity  at  every  revolu- 
tion of  the  earth,  and  the  immense  dark  shadow  which  it 
now  made,  as  it  passed  beneath  the  sun,  seemed  ominous 
of  an  ill  fate  to  our  world  and  its  inhabitants.  It  was  a 
time  to  try  the  stoutest  hearts,  and,  of  course,  the  multitude 
of  the  people  were  overwhelmed  with  alarm.  As  no  one 
could  do  anything  to  ward  oiif  what  seemed  a  certain  catas- 
trophe, the  situation  was  all  the  more  dreadful.  Men  could 
only  watch  the  monster,  speculate  as  to  the  result,  and  wait, 
with  horrible  suspense,  for  the  inevitable.  The  circle  of 
revolution  was  now  becoming  so  small  that  the  crisis  was 
hourly  expected.  Men  everywhere  left  their  houses  and 
sought  the  shelterless  fields,  and  it  was  well  they  did  so,  for 
there  came  a  day  when  the  earth  received  a  sudden  and 
awful  shock.  After  it  had  passed,  people  looked  at  each 
other  wonderingly  to  find  themselves  alive,  and  began  con- 
gratulating each  other,  thinking  the  worst  was  over.  But 
the  dreadful  anxiety  returned  when,  after  some  hours,  the 
moon  again  appeared,  a  little  tardy  this  time,  but  nearer 
and  more  threatening  than  ever.  The  news  was  afterwards 
brought  that  it  had  struck  the  high  mountain  peaks  of 
Central  Asia,  tearing  down  their  sides  with  the  power  of  a 
thousand  glaciers  and  filling  the  valleys  below  with  ruin. 

It  was  now  felt  that  the  end  must  soon  come,  and  this 
was  true,  for  at  the  earth's  very  next  revolution  the  tired 
and  feeble  satellite,  once  the  queen  of  the  sky  and  the 
poet's  glory,  scraped  across  the  continent  of  South  America, 
received  the  death  blow  in  collision  with  the  Andes, 
careened,  and  fell  at  last  into  the  South  Pacific  Ocean. 
The  shock  gi\'en  to  the  earth  was  tremendous,  but  no  other 
result  was  manifest  except  that  the  huge  mass  displaced 
water  enough  to  submerge  many  islands  and  to  reconstruct 


A    FALLEN    SATELLITE.  15 

the  shore  lines  of  every  continent.  There  was  untold  loss 
of  life  and  property,  of  course,  but  it  is  astonishing  how 
easily  those  who  were  left  alive  accepted  the  new  state  of 
things,  when  it  was  found  that  the  staid  earth,  in  spite  of 
the  enormous  wart  on  her  side,  was  making  her  daily  revo- 
lution almost  with  her  accustomed  regularity. 

The  lovers  of  science,  however,  were  by  no  means  indiffer- 
ent to  the  new-comer.  To  be  able  at  last  to  solve  all  the 
problems  of  the  constitution  and  geography  of  the  moon 
was  enough  to  fill  them  with  the  greatest  enthusiasm.  But, 
while  thousands  were  ready  to  investigate  the  mysterious 
visitor,  one  great  difficulty  stood  in  the  way  of  all  progress. 
It  seemed  impossible  to  get  a  foothold  on  the  surface. 
The  great  globe  rose  from  the  waves  on  all  sides  at  such  an 
angle  on  account  of  its  shape  that  a  lodgment  could  not 
easily  be  made.  Ships  sailed  under  the  overhanging  sides, 
and  in  a  calm  sea  they  would  send  out  their  boats,  which 
approached  near  enough  to  secure  huge  specimens.  These 
were  broken  into  fragments  and  were  soon  sold  on  the  streets 
of  every  city. 

The  first  to  really  set  foot  on  the  dead  satellite  were 
some  adventurous  advertisers,  who  shot  an  arrow  and  cord 
over  a  projecting  crag,  pulled  a  rope  after  it,  and  finally 
drew  themselves  up,  and  soon  the  lunar  cliffs  were  put  to 
some  practical  use,  blazoning  forth  a  few  staring  words. 
These  men  could  not  go  beyond  their  narrow  standing  place, 
for  the  general  cur\e  of  the  surface,  although  broken  up 
by  many  irregularities,  presented  no  opportunities  for  the 
most  skillful  climbing. 

But  it  was  impossible  that,  with  the  moon  so  near,  the 
problem  of  reaching  it  could  long  remain  unsolved.  Dr. 
Schwartz,  an  eminent  scientist,  was  the  first  to  suggest  that 
it  must  be  approached  in  a  balloon,  and  at  the  same  time 


l6  DAYBREAK. 

he  announced  that  he  would  be  one  of  two  men,  if  another 
could  be  found,  to  undertake  to  effect  a  landing  in  that 
way.  Here,  I  saw,  was  my  opportunity.  I  had  often 
dreamed  of  visiting  the  moon  and  other  heavenly  bodies, 
and  now  here  was  a  chance  to  go  in  reality.  I  had  some 
acquaintance  with  Dr.  Schwartz,  and  my  prompt  application 
for  the  vacant  place  in  the  proposed  expedition  was  success- 
ful. The  doctor  kindly  wrote  me  that  my  enthusiasm  in 
the  cause  was  just  what  he  was  looking  for,  and  he  was  sure 
I  would  prove  a  plucky  and  reliable  companion.  The  mat- 
ter attracted  so  much  attention  that  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment, moved  to  action  by  the  public  nature  of  the  enter- 
prise, took  it  up  and  offered  to  bear  all  the  expense  of  the 
equipment  and  carrying  out  of  the  expedition.  Encouraged 
by  this  assistance,  the  doctor  began  his  plans  at  once.  All 
recognized  that  one  great  object  was  to  settle  the  question 
as  to  the  existence  of  life  on  the  other  side  of  the  moon ; 
for,  in  spite  of  its  rude  collisions  with  mountains  and  con- 
tinents before  it  rested  as  near  the  heart  of  the  earth  as  it 
could  get,  it  had  insisted,  with  an  almost  knowing  per\-er- 
sity,  in  keeping  its  old,  familiar  face  next  to  us.  To 
solve  this  problem  might  take  niuch  time,  and  so  we  deter- 
mined to  go  so  well  prepared  that,  if  we  once  reached  the 
upper  surface  of  the  moon,  we  could  stay  as  long  as  our 
errand  demanded. 

It  was  decided  to  make  the  ascent  from  a  town  near  the 
coast  of  the  southern  part  of  Chili,  and  thither  we  went 
with  our  balloon,  some  scientific  apparatus,  and  a  large 
quantity  of  dried  provisions.  We  took  with  us  also  papers 
from  the  State  Department  showing  that  we  were  accredited 
agents  from  our  Government  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  moon, 
if  we  should  find  any.  Our  arrangements  were  speedily 
made,  and  on  a  still,  bright  morning  we  bade  adieu  to  our 


A    FALLEN    SATELLITE.  17 

friends  who  had  accompanied  us  thus  far,  mounted  our  car, 
and  set  sail. 

We  left  the  earth  with  light  hearts,  excited  with  the  novel 
and  interesting  character  of  the  enterprise,  and  but  little 
realizing  its  difficulty  and  danger.  Ordinary  balloon  jour- 
neys had  become  frequent,  and  the  evolution  of  the  air  ship 
had  almost  passed  beyond  the  experimental  stage,  but  noth- 
ing like  our  present  undertaking  had  ever  been  attempted. 

Our  starting  place  was  far  enough  from  the  resting  point 
of  the  moon  to  enable  us  to  clear  the  rounded  side,  but  in 
order  to  reach  the  equatorial  line  of  the  fallen  globe  we 
would  be  obliged  to  ascend  over  a  thousand  miles. 

The  fact  that  we  were  not  appalled  by  the  mere  thought 
of  rising  to  such  a  height  shows  how  thoroughly  we  were 
carried  away  with  the  excitement.  But  we  were  better  pre- 
pared for  a  lofty  flight  than  might  be  supposed.  For  among 
the  recent  wonders  of  science  had  been  the  invention  of  an 
air-condensing  machine,  by  which  the  rarefied  atmosphere 
of  the  upper  regions  could  be  converted  into  good  food  for 
the  lungs.  These  machines  had  been  successfully  tested 
more  than  once  by  voyagers  of  the  air,  but  the  present  occa- 
sion promised  to  give  them  a  much  more  severe  trial  than 
they  had  yet  received.  And,  indeed,  it  is  impossible  to 
imagine  how  we  could  have  sun-ived  without  them.  Another 
important  aid  to  science  rendered  by  this  air-condensing 
apparatus  is  that  in  the  process  of  condensation  water  is 
produced  in  sufficient  quantities  to  drink.  Our  little  car 
was  tightly  inclosed,  and  we  took  enough  surplus  gas  with 
us  to  keep  it  comfortably  warm.  So,  with  plenty  of  food, 
air,  water,  and  fuel,  we  were  pretty  well  prepared  for  a 
long  journey. 

Our  instruments,  placed  just  outside  the  glass  sides  of  the 
car,  told  us  how  fast  we  were  rising  and  what  height  we 

2 


IJS  DAYBREAK. 

had  reached  from  time  to  time,  and  as  we  left  the  denser 
atmosphere  of  the  earth  we  were  gratified  to  find  that  we 
continued  to  rise  rapidly.  On  one  side  of  us  we  could  see 
the  rugged  surface  of  the  moon,  now,  on  account  of  its 
rounded  form,  drawing  nearer  to  us  every  hour  as  we  ap- 
proached the  point  where  we  hoped  to  land.  We  thought 
it  best  to  try  to  pass  the  center  and  land,  if  possible,  some- 
where on  the  upper  hemisphere,  which  was  the  part  of  the 
monstrous  object  that  we  wanted  to  investigate.  But  when 
at  length  we  thought  we  were  about  to  fly  past  the  moon's 
equator  successfully,  an  unexpected  thing  happened. 

If  we  suppose  the  moon  was  resting,  at  the  bottom  of  the 
ocean,  on  one  of  its  poles,  we  were  going  toward  the  equa- 
torial line,  and  we  thought  we  should  not  be  able  to  retain 
a  foothold  anywhere  below  that  line  certainly.  But  now, 
what  was  our  surprise  to  find  ourselves  under  some  mys- 
terious influence.  Our  balloon  refused  to  obey  us  as  hereto- 
fore, and  in  spite  of  nidder  and  sail  we  were  drifting  about, 
and  appeared  to  be  going  toward  the  moon's  surface  sooner 
than  we  had  intended. 

In  scientific  emergencies  I  deferred  to  my  companion, 
and  now  asked  for  an  explanation  of  this  erratic  behavior 
of  our  balloon.  Instead  of  replying  at  once,  the  doctor 
stooped%nd  cut  a  fine  wire,  which  released  one  of  the  sand 
bags  suspended  for  ballast  from  the  bottom  of  our  car,  and 
told  me  to  watch  it.  We  both  watched  it,  and  instead  of 
starting  with  rapidity  for  the  center  of  the  earth,  as  all 
well-conducted  sand  bags  have  done  from  the  beginning  of 
the  world,  it  seemed  to  hesitate  and  float  around  a  minute, 
as  though  it  were  no  more  than  a  handful  of  feathers.  And 
then,  slowly  at  first,  but  soon  more  and  more  swiftly,  forget- 
ting its  birthplace  and  its  old  mother  earth,  it  fell  un- 
blushingly  toward  the  moon. 


A    FALLEN    SATELLITE. 


19 


Intent  on  watching  the  fickle  sand  bag,  we  did  not  at  first 
notice  that  our  whole  conveyance  was  practicing  the  same 
unhandsome  maneuver.  But  we  soon  became  aware  that 
we  had  changed  allegiance  also.  We  had  started  with  the 
earth  at  our  feet  and  the  moon  looming  up  on  one  side  of 
us,  but  here  we  were  now  riding  with  the  moon  under  us 
and  the  earth  away  off  at  our  side. 

My  fellow  in  this  strange  experience  now  found  his  voice. 

"You  doubtless  realize,"  said  he,  "what  has  taken 
place.  We  are  now  so  far  from  the  earth  that  its  attrac- 
tion is  very  weak  and  the  nearer  mass  of  the  moon  is  draw- 
ing us." 

"That  is  quite  evident,"  I  said,  "but  you  seem  as 
unconcerned  about  it  as  if  such  a  trip  as  this  were  an  every- 
day affair  with  you." 

"  I  am  not  at  all  indififerent  to  the  wonderful  character 
of  this  journey,"  he  replied,  "  but  its  scientific  value  swal- 
lows up  all  personal  considerations." 

I  believed  this  to  be  true,  and  I  will  say  right  here  that 
in  all  our  future  experiences  the  doctor  showed  the  same 
indifference  to  everything  like  fear,  and  seemed  content 
to  go  to  any  length  in  the  interest  of  science. 

We  were  now  able  to  govern  our  movements  by  the  ordi- 
nary methods  of  ballooning,  and  after  sailing  over  the  sur- 
face of  the  moon  a  few  hours,  studying  its  rugged  outlines, 
we  began  to  think  of  selecting  a  place  for  landing.  There 
was  no  water  to  be  seen  and  no  forests  nor  other  vegetation, 
but  everywhere  were  huge  mountains  and  deep  valleys,  all 
as  bare  and  uninviting  as  it  is  possible  to  imagine. 

But  it  would  not  do  to  turn  a  cold  shoulder  to  her  now, 
and  "10  we  descended  gracefully  to  make  her  close  acquaint- 
an'  cast  out  our  anchor,  and  were  soon  on  the  moon  in 
rea    *.y. 


CHAPTER   III. 


TWO    MEN    IN    THE    MOON. 


"Well,  Doctor,"  said  I,  as  soon  as  our  feet  touched 
the  ground,  "  the  moon  is  inhabited  now  if  never  before." 

"Yes,  yes,"  he  answered,  "  and  I  am  glad  to  find  the 
inhabitants  are  of  such  a  lively  disposition." 

"  Oh,  who  can  help  being  light-hearted,"  I  rejoined, 
"  when  one's  body  is  so  light?  " 

For  as  soon  as  we  left  our  car  we  began  to  have  the  queer- 
est sensations  of  lightness.  We  felt  as  if  we  were  standing 
on  springs,  which  the  least  motion  would  set  off  and  up  we 
would  go  toward  the  sky.  Elverything  we  handled  had  but 
a  small  fraction  of  the  weight  it  would  possess  on  the 
earth,  and  our  great  air-condensing  machines  we  carried 
about  with  ease.  But  however  high  we  might  jump  we 
always  returned  to  the  ground,  and  whether  we  were  on  top 
of  the  moon  or  on  the  bottom  of  it,  it  was  pretty  certain 
that  we  could  not  fall  off,  any  more  than  we  could  have 
fallen  off  the  earth  before  we  voluntarily  but  so  rashly 
left  it. 

My  exhilaration  of  spirit  did  not  last,  for  I  could  not 
help  thinking  of  our  condition.  The  law  of  gravitation 
surely  held  us,  although  with  less  force  than  we  had  been 
accustomed  to,  on  account  of  the  smaller  size  of  the  moon ; 
and  how  were  we  to  get  away  from  it? 

I  again  appealed  to  my  companion. 


TWO    MEN    IN    THE    MOON.  21 

"  I  do  not  like  the  idea  of  spending  the  rest  of  our  lives 
on  the  moon,  Doctor,  but  can  you  tell  me  how  we  are  to 
prevent  it?  Can  we  ever  get  back  within  the  earth's 
attraction  again?  " 

"  I  have  been  pondering  the  subject  myself,"  he  replied, 
"  and  I  think  I  can  give  you  some  hope  of  seeing  home 
once  more.  If  our  old  measurements  of  the  moon  are 
correct,  and  if  we  are,  as  I  suppose,  somewhere  near  the 
equator,  we  must  be  about  fifteen  hundred  miles  from  the 
earth,  following  the  curve  of  the  moon's  surface.  Now, 
after  we  have  finished  our  investigations  here,  we  can  start 
for  home  on  foot.  We  can  cover  a  good  many  miles  a  day, 
since  walking  can  be  no  burden  here,  and  we  can  easily 
tow  our  balloon  along.  As  we  approach  the  earth,  my 
impression  is  that  we  shall  become  more  and  more  light- 
footed,  for  we  shall  be  gradually  getting  back  to  the  earth's 
attraction.  Somewhere  between  this  point  and  our  planet 
there  must  be  a  spot  where  the  attraction  of  both  bodies 
will  be  equal,  and  we  can  stay  on  the  moon  or  drop  off  and 
return  to  the  earth  in  our  balloon  as  we  please." 

"  What  a  curious  idea,"  I  answered  ;  "  and  yet,  consider- 
ing the  strange  behavior  of  our  sand  bag,  I  don't  know  but 
you  are  right.  And  I  have  only  one  suggestion  to  make ; 
that  is,  that  we  start  earthward  at  once  and  try  the  experi- 
ment. Let  the  investigations  go.  If  there  are  any  inhabi- 
tants here  they  will  never  miss  us,  since  we  haven't  made 
their  acquaintance  yet.  Science  or  no  science,  I  object  to 
remaining  any  longer  than  necessary  in  this  uncertainty  in 
regard  to  our  future.  You  know  very  well  we  couldn't  live 
long  in  this  temperature  and  with  nothing  for  our  lungs 
but  what  comes  through  these  horrid  machines.  And  what 
good  would  come  of  our  discoveries  if  we  are  never  to  get 
back  to  the  earth  again?    I  profess  to  have  as  much  courage 


22  DAYBREAK. 

left  as  the  ordinary  mortal  would  have,  but  in  the  present 
circumstances  I  believe  no  one  would  blame  us  for  wanting 
to  settle  this  question  at  once." 

"  It  would  seem  a  trifle  ridiculous,"  said  the  doctor  in 
reply  to  this  harangue,  "  for  us  to  return  to  our  planet 
without  any  further  effort  to  accomplish  our  errand.  But  I 
will  not  deny  that  I  share  something  of  your  feeling,  and  I 
will  start  with  you  right  away,  on  condition  that  you  will 
return  here  if  we  find  that  I  am  correct  in  believing  we  can 
leave  the  moon  at  our  pleasure." 

"  Agreed,"  I  cried,  and  we  were  soon  on  our  way. 

So  far  we  had  been  exposed  to  the  sun  and  were  almost 
scorched  by  the  intensity  of  its  rays.  We  had  never  experi- 
enced anything  like  such  heat  and  would  not  have  supposed 
the  human  body  could  endure  it.  But  now,  soon  after  we 
had  started  to  find  the  place  where  the  moon  would  let  go 
of  us,  the  sun  set  and,  with  scarcely  a  minute's  warning, 
we  were  plunged  into  darkness  and  cold.  The  darkness 
was  relieved  by  the  exceedingly  brilliant  appearance  of  the 
stars,  the  sky  fairly  blazing  with  them,  but  the  cold  was 
almost  unendurable  even  for  the  few  moments  in  which  we 
were  exposed  to  it.  We  secured  our  car  as  speedily  as  pos- 
sible, climbed  into  it,  and  got  a  little  warmth  from  our  gas 
heater. 

These  extremes  of  temperature  convinced  us  that  no  life 
such  as  we  were  acquainted  with  could  exist  a  great  while 
on  the  moon. 

We  found  we  could  make  no  progress  at  all  by  night. 
We  could  only  shut  ourselves  up  and  wait  for  the  sun  to 
come.  In  trying  to  keep  warm  we  would  work  our  air-con- 
densers harder  than  usual,  and  the  water  thus  produced  we 
would  freeze  in  little  cakes,  and  have  them  to  help  mitigate 
the  burning  heat  a  short  time  the  next  day. 


TWO    MEN    IN    THE    MOON.  23 

The  country  through  which  we  were  traveling  was  made 
up  of  bold  mountain  peaks  and  deep  ravines.  There  was 
no  sign  of  vegetation  and  not  even  the  soil  for  it  to  grow 
in,  but  everywhere  only  hard,  metallic  rock  that  showed 
unmistakably  the  action  of  fire. 

And  so  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  we  made 
our  way  earthward,  although  there  was  so  little  effort  needed 
in  walking.  As  I  pondered  the  doctor's  idea,  it  seemed  to 
me  more  and  more  that  he  must  be  right.  We  were  cer- 
tainly held  to  the  moon  where  we  were  by  gravitation.  It 
was  just  as  true  that  near  the  surface  of  the  earth  its  supe- 
rior attraction  would  draw  all  objects  to  itself.  Accord- 
ingly, if  we  kept  on  our  way,  why  should  we  not  in  time 
come  to  a  place  where  we  could  throw  ourselves  once  more 
under  the  influence  of  the  old  earth,  now  becoming  very 
dear  to  us? 

Thinking  chiefly  of  this  subject  and  talking  of  it  every 
day,  we  labored  on,  and  finally  were  wonderfully  encour- 
aged with  the  belief  that  we  were  actually  walking  easier 
and  everything  was  becoming  lighter.  Soon  this  belief 
became  a  certainty,  and,  since  leaping  was  no  effort,  we 
leaped  with  joy  and  hope. 

And  now  how  shall  I  describe  our  sensations  as  we  went 
bounding  along,  hardly  touching  the  ground,  until  we 
finally  came  to  the  place  where  it  was  not  necessary  to 
touch  the  ground  at  all  ?  Now  we  knew  that  by  going  only 
a  little  further  we  should  be  able  to  mount  our  car  and  set 
sail  for  the  earth  again.  But  with  this  knowledge  we  lost 
at  once  much  of  our  desire,  and  thought  we  would  not  hasten 
our  departure.  Here  we  were,  absolutely  floating  in  the 
air,  and  it  maybe  believed  that  the  feeling  was  as  delicious 
as  it  was  unique.  Using  our  hands  as  fins  we  could  with 
the  slightest  effort  sail  around  at  pleasure,  resting  in  any 


24  DAYBREAK. 

position  we  chose  to  take,  truly  a  most  luxurious  expe- 
rience. 

"  How  shall  we  make  our  friends  believe  all  this  when 
we  try  to  tell  them  about  it,  Doctor?  "   said  I. 

"The  best  way  to  make  them  believe  it,"  he  replied, 
"  is  to  bring  them  up  here  and  let  them  try  it  for  them- 
selves. I  propose  to  organize  an  expedition  on  our  return 
and  bring  up  a  large  party.  We  could  manage  to  land 
somewhere  in  this  vicinity,  I  think,  instead  of  going  up  as 
far  as  you  and  I  did.  What  a  place  this  would  be  for  sum- 
mer vacations  !  The  moon  is  a  fixture  now;  it  cannot  get 
away.  I  am  sure  of  that,  for  the  law  of  gravitation  will 
never  release  it.  So  we  may  as  well  make  what  use  of  it 
we  can,  and  these  delightful  sensations  will  no  doubt  form 
the  most  important  discovery  that  we  shall  ever  make  on 
this  dried-up  and  worn-out  satellite.  You  know  many 
people  are  willing  to  put  themselves  to  much  inconve- 
nience and  to  undergo  many  hardships  for  the  sake  of  a 
change  from  the  monotony  of  home  life.  If  v/e  can  induce 
them  to  come  up  here  for  a  few  weeks,  and  if  they  can 
endure  this  rather  erratic  climate,  they  will  find  change 
enough  to  break  up  the  monotony  for  one  year,  I  think." 

After  enjoying  this  rare  exercise  to  our  content,  we  began 
preparing  for  the  night  which  was  now  coming  on.  The 
doctor  had  reminded  me  of  my  promise  to  return  to  our 
former  position  on  the  moon,  and  we  agreed  to  set  out  the 
next  day.  Having  fastened  our  car  securely  to  the  ground, 
so  that  we  might  not  drift  off  toward  the  earth,  we  entered 
it  and  made  ourselves  as  comfortable  as  possible. 

Our  resting  place  was  near  the  center  of  what  seemed  to 
be  an  immense  crater,  and  some  time  before  morning  we 
were  roused  by  a  violent  shaking  of  the  ground  beneath  us, 
which  startled  us  beyond  expression. 


TWO    MEN    IN    THE    MOON.  2^ 

"  What's  that?  "   I  exclaimed. 

"  That  feels  very  much  like  a  moonquake,"  replied  my 
companion. 

I  was  terribly  frightened,  but  resolved  to  follow  the  doc- 
tor's example  and  make  light  of  what  we  could  not  help. 
So  I  said  : 

"  But  I  thought  the  lunar  volcanoes  were  all  dead  ages 
ago.  I  hope  we  haven't  camped  in  the  crater  of  one  that  is 
likely  to  go  off  again." 

"  My  opinion  is,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  that  there  is 
still  water  inside  the  moon  which  is  gradually  freezing. 
That  operation  would  sometimes  crack  the  surface,  and  this 
has  probably  caused  the  quakings  that  we  have  felt." 

While  we  were  talking  the  wind  began  to  blow,  and  soon, 
although  it  was  long  before  time  for  the  sun  to  rise,  we 
suddenly  emerged  from  darkness  into  bright  sunlight.  We 
sprang  up  instinctively  to  look  about  us  and  try  to  discover 
what  this  could  mean,  when  what  was  our  consternation  to 
find  ourselves  adrift  ! 

There,  in  full  view  of  our  wondering  eyes,  was  the  whole, 
round  earth,  hanging  in  space,  and  where  were  we?  Then 
we  began  to  realize  gradually  that  the  trembling  of  the 
ground  was  the  grating  of  the  moon  against  the  earth  as 
it  left  its  resting  place,  and  the  wind  was  caused  by  our 
motion. 

The  novelty  of  the  situation  took  away  for  a  time  the 
sense  of  fear,  and  I  exclaimed  : 

"  Another  scientific  certainty  gone  to  smash  !  I  thought 
you  said  the  moon  could  never  get  away  from  the  earth. 
What  are  we  going  to  do  now  ?  ' ' 

"Well,"  replied  the  doctor,  "this  is  certainly  some- 
thing I  never  dreamed  of  in  my  philosophy.  I  didn't  see 
how  the  moon  could  be  drawn  away  from  the  earth  when 


26  DAYBREAK, 

once  actually  attached  to  it,  but  I  suppose  the  sun  and 
planets  all  happen  to  be  pulling  in  one  direction  just  now 
and  are  proving  too  much  for  the  earth's  attraction.  But 
what  concerns  us  more  at  this  time  is  covered  by  your  ques- 
tion, '  What  are  we  going  to  do  now?  '  And  I  will  answer 
that  I  think  we  will  stick  to  the  moon  for  a  while.  You  can 
see  for  yourself  that  we  are  held  here  much  more  firmly 
than  when  we  were  disporting  ourselves  in  the  air  yester- 
day, and  the  earth  is  now  too  far  away  for  us  to  throw  our- 
selves and  our  balloon  within  its  attraction." 

I  knew  by  the  feeling  of  increasing  weight  that  what  my 
companion  said  must  be  true,  but  we  could  not  then  appre- 
ciate the  dreadful  nature  of  our  condition,  so  wrapped  up 
were  we  in  the  grandeur  of  the  object  before  our  eyes.  To 
those  who  have  never  been  on  the  moon  in  such  circum- 
stances it  will  be  impossible  to  adequately  describe  our 
feelings  as  we  gazed  upon  our  late  home  and  knew  that  we 
were  fast  drifting  away  from  it. 

There  the  round  globe  hung,  as  I  had  often  pictured  it 
in  my  imagination — oceans  and  continents,  mountains, 
lakes,  and  rivers,  all  spread  out  before  us — the  greatest 
object  lesson  ever  seen  by  the  eye  of  man.  As  we  studied 
it,  recognizing  feature  after  feature,  lands  and  waters  that 
we  knew  by  their  familiar  shape,  the  doctor  broke  our 
reverie  with  these  words,  evidently  with  the  endeavor  to 
keep  up  my  sjjirits  : 

"  That  looks  as  natural  as  a  map,  doesn't  it?  You  have 
seen  globes  with  those  divisions  pictured  on  them,  but  there 
is  the  globe  itself.  If  our  summer  tourists  could  take  in 
this  experience  also,  it  would  make  a  vacation  worth  having. 
Isn't  it  grand?  I  see  you  are  thinking  about  our  personal 
peril,  but  I  think  I  know  men  who  would  take  the  risk  and  put 
themselves  in  our  place  for  the  sake  of  this  magnificent  view." 


TWO    MEN    IN    THE    MOON.  27 

"  If  you  know  of  any  way  to  send  for  one  of  those 
friends,  I  wish  you  would  do  so,"  I  replied.  "  I  would 
willingly  give  him  my  place." 

It  may  be  believed  that  we  were  all  this  time  anxiously 
watching  the  earth,  and  it  did  not  lessen  our  anxiety  to 
realize  that  we  were  traveling  ver)'  rapidly  away  from  it. 
I  had  reached  a  point  now  where  I  did  not  place  much 
dependence  upon  the  doctor's  science,  but  to  get  some  ex- 
pression of  his  thoughts  I  said  to  him  : 
-  "  Well,  have  you  any  opinion  about  our  fate?  Are  we 
doomed  to  pass  the  remainder  of  our  lives  circling  around 
our  dear  old  earth,  looking  upon  her  face  day  by  day  but 
never  to  approach  her  again?  " 

"  I  think  you  have  stated  the  case  about  as  it  is,"  said 
he,  "  if,  indeed,  this  rate  of  speed  does  not  carry  us  entirely 
beyond  the  earth's  attraction,  out  into  illimitable  space." 

The  thought  of  such  an  additional  catastrophe  silenced 
me,  especially  as  I  could  not  deny  its  possibility.  Life  on 
the  moon,  if  we  could  only  keep  the  earth  in  sight  even, 
seemed  almost  endurable  now,  beside  the  idea  that  we 
might  be  cast  out  to  shift  for  ourselves,  without  a  tie  save 
such  as  the  universal  law  of  gravitation  might  find  for  us 
somewhere. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  our  conversation  was  carried 
on  with  ease  or  that  we  were  half  enjoying  our  novel  situa- 
tion. We  were  simply  trying  to  make  the  best  of  a  very 
bad  matter.  Not  long  after  we  had  started  the  wind  had 
taken  away  the  balloon  part  of  our  air  ship,  and  now 
threatened  every  moment  to  tear  the  car  from  its  moorings 
and  end  our  unhappy  career  at  once.  Besides  this  impend- 
ing catastrophe,  it  was  with  the  greatest  difficulty  that  we 
could  get  air  enough  to  fill  our  lungs,  but  the  cold  was  so 
intense  whenever  our  side  of   the  moon   was  turned  away 


28  DAYBREAK. 

from  the  sun  that  we  needed  the  severe  labor  on  our  con- 
densers to  keep  us  from  freezing. 

Meantime,  our  speed  increasing  every  hour,  the  planet 
that  had  once  been  our  home  was  growing  smaller  before 
our  eyes.  At  length  we  were  flying  through  space  at  such  a 
rate  that  we  could  not  suppress  our  fears  that  the  terrible 
suggestion  of  the  doctor's  would  be  realized.  We  had  both 
made  a  mental  calculation  as  to  how  large  the  earth  ought 
to  look  from  the  moon  at  its  normal  distance,  and  as  it 
approached  that  size  we  could  not  hide  our  anxiety  from 
each  other.  Without  a  word  from  the  doctor  I  could  see 
by  his  face  that  hope  was  fast  leaving  him,  and  as  we  were 
now  going  more  rapidly  than  ever  I  felt  that  we  had  nothing 
to  do  but  accept  our  fate. 

In  regard  to  such  intensity  of  feeling  at  this  stage  of  our 
experience,  it  maybe  objected  that  our  condition  was  hope- 
less anyway,  and  it  could  make  no  difference  whether  we 
remained  within  the  earth's  influence  or  not.  But  in  spite 
of  our  desperate  situation  we  had  some  sentiment  remain- 
ing. The  earth  was  the  only  home  we  had  ever  known,  and 
I  am  not  ashamed  to  say  that  we  did  not  like  to  lose  sight 
of  it;  especially  as  there  was  not  the  slightest  possibility 
that  we  should  ever  see  it  again,  unless,  indeed,  our  moon 
should  turn  into  a  comet  with  eccentric  orbit,  and  so  bring 
us  back  at  some  future  day — a  very  unlikely  occurrence,  as 
all  will  admit  who  know  anything  about  moons  and  comets. 

Our  speed  did  not  lessen  but  rather  increased  as  we  gradu- 
ally broke  away  from  the  earth's  attraction,  and  the  dear 
old  earth  was  fast  becoming  a  less  significant  object  in  our 
sky.  If  our  situation  was  lonesome  before,  it  was  now 
desolation  itself. 

**  Doctor,"  said  I,  when  I  could  control  my  emotions 
enough  to  speak,  "  where  now?  " 


TWO    MEN    IN    THE    MOON.  29 

"Well,"  he  replied,  with  a  grim  attempt  at  a  smile, 
"  my  opinion  is  not  worth  much  in  our  present  strange  cir- 
cumstances, but  it  seems  to  me  we  are  on  our  way  either 
to  the  sun  or  one  of  the  large  planets." 

I  did  not  reply,  and  we  both  soon  found  it  wise  to  expend 
no  unnecessary  breath  in  talking.  The  ether  was  now  so 
thin  that  it  took  oceans  of  it,  literally,  to  make  enough  air 
to  keep  us  alive. 

Our  provisions  were  nearly  exhausted,  our  strength  was 
failing,  and  I  really  believe  we  would  not  have  lived  many 
days  had  not  something  occurred  to  divert  our  minds  and 
to  relieve  some  of  our  physical  discomforts. 


CHAPTER   IV. 


AND    ONE    WOMAN, 


At  the  time  we  tied  our  car  to  the  rocks,  to  prevent  us 
from  drifting  away  from  the  earth,  we  did  not  anticipate 
that  the  fastenings  would  receive  any  very  severe  strain,  but 
now  the  velocity  of  the  wind  was  such  that  there  was  great 
danger  of  our  breaking  away.  The  moon  was  not  a  Aery 
hospitable  place,  to  be  sure,  as  we  had  thus  far  found  it,  but 
still  we  preferred  it  to  the  alternative  of  flying  off  into  space 
in  our  glass  car  and  becoming  a  new  species  of  meteor. 

And  yet  it  seemed  to  be  courting  instant  death  to  attempt 
to  leave  the  car  and  seek  for  other  shelter.  We  could  not 
decide  which  course  to  take.  Both  were  so  full  of  peril 
that  there  seemed  to  be  no  possible  safety  in  either. 

As  I  review  our  situation  now,  and  think  of  us  spinning 
along  on  that  defunct  world  we  knew  not  whither,  with  no 
ray  of  light  to  illumine  the  darkness  of  our  future  or  show 
us  the  least  chance  of  escape  from  our  desperate  plight,  it 
is  astonishing  to  me  that  we  did  not  give  up  all  hope  and 
lie  down  and  die  at  once.  It  only  shows  what  the  human 
body  can  endure  and  of  what  stuff  our  minds  are  made.  I 
think  it  would  not  be  making  a  rash  statement  to  say  that 
no  man  ever  found  himself  in  a  worse  situation  and  sur- 
vived. 

But  help  was  nearer  than  we  supposed.  From  what  we 
had  seen  of  the  moon  we  could  not  have  imagined  a  more 


AND    ONE    WOMAN.  3I 

unexpected  thing  than  that  which  happened  to  us  then. 
Suddenly,  above  the  roar  of  the  wind  and  the  thumping  of 
our  car  on  the  rocks,  even  above  the  tumult  of  our  spirits, 
there  came  to  us  the  strains  of  more  than  earthly  music. 
Whether  it  was  from  voice  or  instrument  we  could  not  tell, 
and  in  its  sweetness  and  power  it  was  absolutely  indescrib- 
able. At  first  we  did  not  tr\' to  discover  its  source  but  were 
content  to  sit  and  quietly  enjoy  it,  as  it  fell  gently  upon 
us,  per\'ading  our  whole  being  and  so  filling  us  with  courage 
and  strength  that  we  seemed  to  be  transformed  into  new 
men. 

Then,  wondering  if  we  could  discover  from  whence  the 
notes  came,  we  turned  and  looked  about  us,  when  there  was 
revealed  to  us  a  vision  of  beauty  which  filled  and  satisfied 
the  sense  of  sight  as  completely  as  our  ears  had  been 
enchanted  with  the  angelic  music. 

Not  far  from  our  car,  with  her  flowing  garments  nearly 
torn  from  her  in  the  fierceness  of  the  gale,  was  a  young  girl, 
stretching  out  her  hands  imploringly  toward  us  and  pouring 
forth  her  voice  in  that  exquisite  song.  We  soon  discovered 
it  was  not  for  herself  that  she  was  anxious,  but  for  us ;  for 
when  she  observed  that  she  had  attracted  our  attention  she 
smiled  and  turned  to  go  back  the  way  she  had  come,  beck- 
oning us  with  hand  and  eye  to  follow  her,  and  still  sing- 
ing her  sweet  but  unintelligible  words.  Perhaps  I  flattered 
myself,  but  I  thought  she  was  looking  at  me  more  than  at 
my  companion,  and  I  began  with  great  eagerness  to  unfasten 
the  door  of  the  car. 

"  Wait !  "  cried  the  doctor.     "  Where  are  you  going?  " 
I  could  not  stop  an  instant,  but  answered  with  feeling : 
"Going?     I  am  going  wherever  she  is  going.     I'll  follow 
her  to  the  end  of  the  moon  if  necessary,  though  the  surface 
be  everywhere  as  bleak  as  our  own  north  pole." 


32  DAVBRKAK. 

"  Well,"  he  replied,  "if  it  is  such  a  desperate  case  as 
that,  I'll  have  to  go  along  to  take  care  of  you." 

I  found  that  when  such  a  woman  beckons  and  such  a  voice 
calls  there  is  but  one  thing  to  do.  The  sirens  were  not  to 
be  mentioned  in  comparison.  Twenty  thousand  hurricanes 
could  not  have  prevented  me  from  attempting  to  follow 
where  she  led  as  long  as  I  had  breath. 

We  reached  the  ground  in  safety,  and  with  the  greatest 
difficulty  made  our  way  in  the  footsteps  of  our  guide,  leav- 
ing all  our  possessions  behind  us,  to  the  doctor's  murmured 
regret.  And  now  the  words  of  the  singer  seemed  to  take  on 
a  joyous  meaning,  and  we  could  almost  distinguish  her  invi- 
tation to  follow  her  to  a  place  where  the  wind  did  not  blow 
and  where  our  present  troubles  would  be  over.  She  kept 
well  in  the  leadbut  walked  only  as  fast  as  our  strength  would 
allow,  looking  back  constantly  to  encourage  us  with  her 
smile  and  ravishing  one  heart  at  least  with  the  melody  of 
her  song. 

Presently  we  came  to  the  edge  of  an  immense  crater, 
hundreds  of  feet  deep  and  as  empty  and  cold  as  all  the 
others  we  had  seen  on  the  moon.  Instead  of  going  around 
this,  our  leader  chose  a  narrow  ravine  and  took  us  down  the 
steep  side  to  the  bottom  of  the  crater.  W'e  supposed  she 
did  this  just  to  give  us  protection  from  the  wind,  and  we 
were  very  much  sheltered,  but  she  did  not  stop  here.  Enter- 
ing one  of  the  many  fissures  in  the  rocks,  she  led  us  into  a 
narrow  passage  whose  floor  descended  so  rapidly  and  whose 
solid  roof  shut  out  the  light  so  quickly  that  in  ordinary 
circumstances  we  would  have  hesitated  about  proceeding. 
But,  although  it  was  soon  absolutely  dark,  we  kept  on, 
guided  by  that  marvelous  voice,  now  our  sole  inspira- 
tion. 

"  Come,  come,  fear  no  harm,"  it  seemed  to  say,  and  we 


.Vv^*i 


■  I'UUKl.NG    FORIH    HEK    \  ORE    I.\    THAT    EXQUISITE    SONG. 


AND    ONE    WOMAN.  ;^^ 

were  content  to  follow  blindly,  even  the  doctor  no  longer 
objecting. 

How  many  hours  we  proceeded  in  this  way,  going  down, 
down,  all  the  time,  toward  the  center  of  the  globe,  I  have 
no  means  of  telling;  but  I  distinctly  remember  that  we 
began,  after  a  time,  to  find,  to  our  great  joy,  that  the  air 
was  becoming  denser  and  we  could  breathe  quite  freely. 
This  gave  us  needed  strength  and  justified  the  faith  with 
which  our  mysterious  deliverer  had  filled  us. 

At  length  we  were  gladdened  by  a  glimmer  of  light 
ahead  of  us,  which  increased  until  our  path  was  all  illu- 
mined with  a  beautiful  soft  haze.  Soon  the  way  broadened 
and  grew  still  brighter,  and  then  we  were  led  forth  into  an 
open  street,  which  seemed  to  be  part  of  a  small  village. 
There  were  but  few  houses,  and  even  these,  cd though  they 
showed  signs  of  a  former  grandeur,  were  sadly  in  need  of 
care.  Not  a  creature  of  any  kind  was  stirring,  and  in  our 
hasty  review  the  whole  place  looked  as  if  it  might  have 
been  deserted  by  its  inhabitants  for  a  hundred  years.  There 
was  one  spot,  however,  so  retired  as  to  be  entirely  hidden 
from  our  view  at  first,  which  had  anything  but  a  deserted 
appearance.  The  house  was  small,  but  it  was  a  perfect 
bower  of  beauty,  half-concealed  with  a  mass  of  flowers  and 
vines.  Here  our  journey  ended,  for  our  guide  led  us  to  the 
door  and,  entering,  turned  and  invited  us  to  follow  her. 

The  doctor  and  I  were  tired  enough  to  accept  with  eager- 
ness her  hospitality,  and  soon  we  were  all  seated  in  a  pleas- 
ant room,  which  was  filled  with  the  evidences  of  a  refined 
taste.  Now  we  had  a  much  better  opportunity  to  observe 
the  resplendent  beauty  of  our  new  friend,  and  we  found, 
also,  that  her  manners  were  as  captivating  as  her  other 
personal  qualities.  At  intervals,  all  through  our  long  walk, 
her  song  had  ceased  and  we  expected  she  would  make  some 
3 


34  DAYBREAK. 

attempt  to  speak  to  us;  but  being  disappointed  in  this,  it 
struck  me  after  we  had  entered  the  house  that  I  ought  to 
end  the  embarrassment  by  addressing  her.  The  circum- 
stances of  our  meeting  were  peculiar,  to  say  the  least,  and, 
of  all  the  thousand  things  I  might  have  appropriately  said, 
nothing  could  have  been  more  meaningless  or  have  better 
showTi  the  vacant  condition  of  my  mind  than  the  words  I 
chose. 

"  It's  a  fine  day,"  I  said,  looking  square  in  her  eyes  and 
trying  to  speak  pleasantly. 

In  answer  she  gave  me  a  smile  which  almost  deprived 
me  of  what  little  wit  remained,  and  at  the  same  time  emitted 
one  exquisite  note. 

I  was  now  at  the  end  of  my  resources.  I  had  always 
thought  I  could  talk  on  ordinary  topics  as  well  as  the  aver- 
age man,  but  in  the  presence  of  this  girl,  with  everything 
in  the  world  unsaid,  I  could  not  think  of  one  word  to  say. 
The  doctor  soon  saw  my  predicament  and  hastened  to  assist 
me,  and  the  remark  which  he  selected  shows  again  his  won- 
derful self-possession  in  the  midst  of  overwhelming  diffi- 
culties. He  waved  his  hand  gently  toward  me  to  attract  her 
attention  and  said  : 

"  My  friend  and  I  are  from  the  United  States  and  have 
come  to  make  you  a  visit.  This  is  your  home,  I  suppose, 
away  down  here  in  the  middle  of  the  moon?  It  is  ver}'  kind 
of  you  to  bring  us  here.  I  hope  you  will  excuse  me  for  my 
rudeness,  but  what  time  do  you  have  supper?  " 

This  time  three  little  notes  of  the  same  quality  as  before 
and  then  a  little  trill,  and  the  whole  accompanied  by  a 
smile  so  sweet  that  I  suddenly  began  to  wish  the  doctor  had 
been  blown  off  the  top  of  the  moon.  It  was  a  wicked 
thought  and  I  put  it  away  from  me  as  quickly  as  possible, 
being  assisted  by  the  recollection  that  the   doctor  had  a 


AND    ONE    WOMAN.  35 

charming  wife  already,  who  was  no  doubt  thinking  of  him 
at  this  very  moment. 

We  were  not  making  much  progress  in  opening  conversa- 
tion, but  our  charming  hostess  seemed  to  understand  either 
the  doctor's  words  or  his  looks,  for,  stepping  into  another 
room,  she  called  us  presently  to  sit  down  to  a  table  well 
supplied  with  plain  but  substantial  food.  She  soon  made 
us  feel  quite  at  home,  just  by  her  easy  and  agreeable  ways. 
We  did  not  once  hear  her  voice  in  ordinary  speech,  and  at 
length  we  began  to  suspect,  what  we  afterward  learned  to 
be  true,  that  she  talked  as  the  birds  talk,  only  in  song. 
Whether  she  used  her  language  or  ours  she  would  always 
sing  or  chant  her  words,  and  every  expression  was  perfect 
in  rhythm  and  melody. 

The  doctor  and  I  hesitated  to  say  much  to  each  other, 
out  of  deference  to  the  feelings  of  this  fair  lunarian,  but  he 
took  occasion  to  remark  to  me  quietly  that  as  she  could  not 
tell  us  her  name  just  yet  he  proposed  to  call  her  Mona* 
for  the  present.  I  assented  easily,  as  it  made  little  differ- 
ence to  me  what  we  called  her,  if  she  would  only  remain 
with  us. 

It  happened  that  the  doctor,  who  knew  everything,  was 
well  acquainted  with  dactylology  and  the  latest  sign  lan- 
guage, used  in  the  instruction  of  deaf  mutes,  and  as  it 
seemed  likely  that  our  stay  in  our  present  abode  might  be  a 
prolonged  one,  he  told  me  he  would  try  to  teach  Mona  to 
converse  with  us.  I  could  not  object,  although  I  secretly 
wished  I  could  have  taken  the  place  of  instructor.  But  it 
soon  occurred  to  me  that  I  must  be  a  fellow  pupil,  if  we 
were  all  to  talk  in  that  way  j  and  so,  with  this  bond  of  sym- 
pathy established  between  us,  Mona  and  I  began  our 
lessons. 

*  Mona  is  old  Saxon  for  moon. 


36  DAYBREAK. 

During  the  closing  years  of  the  century  great  progress  had 
been  made,  on  the  earth,  in  the  method  of  talking  by  arbi- 
trary signs  and  motions.  The  movements  of  the  body  and 
limbs  and  the  great  variety  of  facial  expressions  were  all  so 
well  adapted  to  the  ideas  to  be  represented  that  it  was  com- 
paratively easy  for  an  intelligent  person  to  learn  to  make 
known  many  of  his  thoughts.  As  our  studies  progressed 
day  after  day  it  began  to  dawn  on  me  that  Mona,  in  spite 
of  the  disadvantage  of  not  knowing  our  spoken  language, 
was  learning  faster  than  I  was.  I  was  somewhat  chagrined 
at  this  at  first,  but  it  finally  turned  out  to  my  advantage, 
for  the  doctor  announced  one  day  that  Mona  had  acquired 
all  he  knew  and  could  thenceforth  teach  me  if  I  pleased. 
Here  was  a  bond  of  sympathy  that  I  had  not  looked  for, 
but  I  was  glad  enough  to  avail  myself  of  it,  and  delighted 
to  find  that  Mona  was  also  pleased  with  the  plan.  With 
her  for  a  teacher  it  did  not  take  me  long  to  finish.  Her 
graceful  movements  made  poetry  of  the  language,  and  the 
web  she  was  weaving  around  my  heart  was  strengthened 
every  hour. 

As  Mona  gradually  learned  to  express  herself  to  our  com- 
prehension we  began  to  ask  her  questions  about  herself  and 
her  history.  The  doctor,  being  less  under  the  spell  of  her 
charms  than  I  was,  showed  a  greater  curiosity,  and  one  of 
the  first  things  he  asked  was  : 

"  When  do  you  expect  the  other  uieml)crs  of  your  family 
home?" 

Mona  was  at  first  puzzled,  but  saw  his  meaning  as  soon  as  the 
motions  were  repeated,  and  answered  with  a  few  simple  signs  : 

"  I  have  no  friends  to  come  home.     I  am  alone." 

The  expression  we  [)ut  into  our  faces  told  her  of  our  sor- 
row and  sympathy  better  than  any  words,  and  the  doctor 
continued  : 


AND    ONE    WOMAN.  37 

"  But  these  other  houses  !    Surely  they  are  not  all  empty  ?' ' 

"  Yes,"  she  replied,  "  their  inmates  are  all  gone.  I  am 
the  only  inhabitant  left." 

And  then  she  told  us  from  time  to  time  that  there  were 
no  other  villages  anywhere  in  the  moon  and  that  she  was 
absolutely  the  last  of  her  race.  Our  method  of  conversa- 
tion was  not  free  enough  to  allow  her  to  tell  us  how  she  had 
discovered  the  truth  of  this  astounding  information,  and 
there  were  a  thousand  other  questions  for  whose  answers  we 
were  obliged  to  wait,  but  not  forever. 

The  doctor  and  I  talked  freely  to  each  other  now,  and 
playfully  said  a  great  many  things  to  Mona,  who,  though 
she  did  not  understand  them,  laughed  with  us  and  gave  us 
much  pleasure  with  her  easy,  unembarrassed  manner  and 
piquant  ways.  And  she  not  only  jabbered  away  with  hands 
and  face  in  the  manner  we  had  taught  her,  but  she  did  not 
cease  also  to  make  life  bright  for  us  by  repaying  us  in  our 
own  coin  and  talking  to  us  in  her  natural,  delicious  way. 
With  such  music  in  the  house  life  could  not  be  dull. 

My  infatuation  increased  as  the  days  went  by,  and  I 
began  to  seek  every  possible  occasion  to  be  alone  with 
Mona.  I  often  encouraged  the  doctor  to  go  out  and  learn 
what  he  could  of  our  surroundings,  excusing  myself  from 
bearing  him  company  on  the  ground  that  I  did  not  think  it 
safe  to  leave  Mona  alone.  Or  if  Mona  wanted  to  go  out  I 
would  suggest  to  the  doctor  that  I  needed  the  exercise  also, 
and  that  he  really  ought  to  be  writing  down  our  experiences 
while  he  had  leisure,  as  there  was  no  telling  how  soon  the 
moon  would  land  us  somewhere. 

I  did  not  then  know  whether  the  doctor  saw  through  my 
designs  or  not.  I  thought  not,  for  I  did  not  suppose  he 
was  ever  so  deeply  in  love  as  I  was.  But  if  he  did  he  was 
good  enough  to  take  my  little  hints  and  say  nothing. 


38  DAYBREAK. 

On  these  occasions,  whether  Mona  and  I  remained  in  the 
house  or  walked  abroad,  I  wasted  no  time  in  asking  her 
more  questions  about  the  moon  or  such  trivial  matters,  but 
spent  all  my  efforts  in  trying  to  establish  closer  personal 
relations  between  us.  While  she  was  exceedingly  pleasant 
and  agreeable,  she  did  not  seem  to  understand  my  feeling 
exactly,  although  I  tried  in  every  way  to  show  her  my  heart. 
She  was  not  coquettish,  but  perfectly  unaffected,  and  simply 
did  not  realize  my  meaning.  For  once  the  sign  language 
did  not  prove  adequate  ;  and  so,  as  my  feelings  would  not  be 
controlled,  I  was  fain  to  resort  to  my  natural  tongue,  and 
poured  forth  my  love  to  my  own  satisfaction  if  not  to  her 
comprehension.  I  did  not  stint  the  words,  astonishing 
myself  at  the  fullness  of  my  vocabulary,  and  hoping  that 
the  fer\'or  of  my  manner  and  the  passion  exhibited  in  my 
voice  would  make  the  right  impression  on  my  companion. 

Day  after  day,  as  opportunity  offered,  I  returned  to  the 
same  theme.  Mona  was  sympathetic  in  her  own  charming 
way,  but  apparently  not  affected  in  the  manner  I  was  look- 
ing for.  And  still,  "  I  love  you,  I  love  you,"  was  repeated 
in  her  ears  a  thousand  times.  The  fact  that  she  did  not 
understand  the  words  made  me  all  the  more  voluble,  and  I 
lavished  my  affectionate  terms  upon  her  without  restraint. 

One  day,  after  this  had  been  going  on  for  some  time,  the 
doctor  came  in  from  a  walk  and  found  us  together  as  usual. 
He  had  a  rare  blossom  in  his  hand,  and  stepping  to  Mona's 
side  he  offered  it  to  herwith  some  gallantry.  She  accepted 
it  with  a  beaming  countenance  which  set  my  heart  to 
thumping,  and  then  she  burst  forth  in  a  strain  so  sweet  that 
it  thrilled  my  whole  being  and  roused  in  me  again  that  jeal- 
ous fear  that  Mona  was  learning  to  care  more  for  the  doctor 
than  for  me.  But  how  shall  I  describe  my  emotions  when 
she   suddenly  blended  syllables  of  our  language  with  the 


AND    ONE    WOMAN.  39 

accents  of  her  song,  and,  still  looking  into  the  doctor's  eyes, 
closed  her  entrancing  melody  with  the  burning  words,  ''  I 
love  you  "  ? 

I  wonder  how  other  men  have  borne  such  a  shock  as  that. 
It  seemed  to  me  that  by  simply'living  during  the  next  few 
minutes  I  was  proving  myself  stronger  than  others.  And  I 
was  able  to  think,  too.  It  occurred  to  me  that  perhaps 
Mona  was  merely  a  parrot,  repeating,  with  no  perception  of 
their  meaning,  words  which  she  had  so  often  heard  from 
me.  But  this  idea  passed  swiftly  away  when  I  remembered 
the  warmth  of  her  expression  and  the  ardor  of  her  manner, 
both  of  which,  alas,  she  had  also  learned  from  me. 

As  I  recovered  somewhat  from  the  effects  of  the  blow  I 
found  Mona's  eyes  were  fixed  on  me,  and  she  looked  so 
innocent,  so  entirely  unconscious  of  wrong,  that  if  I  had 
any  anger  in  my  heart  it  melted  away  and  left  me  more  her 
slave  than  ever.  There  was  something  in  her  behavior  which 
I  could  not  comprehend,  and  it  was  evident  that  she  had 
not  yet  acquired  any  particular  fondness  for  me,  but  these 
were  not  sufficient  reasons  to  make  me  cease  to  care  for  her. 
My  love  was  too  strong  to  give  her  up,  even  after  I  had  just 
heard  her  declare,  in  such  a  passionate  way,  her  love  for 
another.  These  thoughts  passed  through  my  mind  as  she 
beamed  upon  me  in  her  radiant  beauty,  smiling  as  sweetly 
as  ever,  as  if  to  encourage  me  still  to  live  and  hope. 

But  how  did  the  doctor  receive  this  remarkable  love- 
song?  Like  the  philosopher  he  was.  Being  astonished 
beyond  measure  at  what  he  had  heard,  he  sat  and  pondered 
the  subject  for  some  minutes.  What  chiefly  interested  him 
was  not  the  personal  element  in  Mona's  words,  which  was 
so  vital  a  point  to  me,  but  the  fact  that  she  could  make  use 
of  any  words  of  our  language.  The  possibilities  which  this 
fact  opened  up  to  him  were  of  the  greatest  moment.     If 


40  DAYBREAK. 

Mona  could  learn  to  talk  freely  she  would  be  able  to  give 
us  much  information  that  would  be  of  great  scientific 
value.  After  he  had  pursued  these  thoughts  a  while  it 
suddenly  struck  him  that  the  expression  she  had  used  was 
a  singular  one  to  begin  with,  and  he  turned  to  me  and 
laughingly  said  : 

"  You  must  have  taught  her  those  words.      I  did  not." 

"I  shall  have  to  acknowledge  it,"  I  replied,  "but  I 
assure  you  I  did  not  influence  her  to  make  such  use  of 
them." 

**  No,  I  suppose  not ;  but  that  question  is  of  small  ac- 
count beside  the  knowledge  that  Mona  has  begun  to  learn 
our  speech.  Now  let  us  give  all  our  attention  to  her 
instruction." 

We  did  so  from  that  hour,  the  doctor  from  high  motives 
of  philosophy  and  philanthropy,  while  I  was  actuated  by 
more  selfish  reasons.  Although  I  had  learned  that  I  had 
been  too  hasty  in  my  attempt  to  gain  Mona's  affections  I 
did  not  despair  of  success.  I  should  have  to  take  time 
and  approach  the  citadel  of  her  untutored  heart  with  more 
caution.  In  the  pleasant  task  of  teaching  her  the  intrica- 
cies of  the  English  language  I  anticipated  many  delight- 
ful opportunities  of  leading  her  into  the  Elysian  fields 
of  romance.  If  she  could  learn  to  understand  fully  my 
intense  feeling  for  her  I  had  no  doubt  she  would  return 
my  passion.  With  such  a  hopeful  spirit  does  the  love  god 
inspire  his  happy  victims. 

In  order  to  assist  in  the  realization  of  these  rosy  fore- 
thoughts, I  suggested  to  the  doctor  that  each  of  us  should 
take  his  turn  in  Mona's  instruction,  so  as  to  make  it  as  easy 
and  informal  for  her  as  possible.  He  had  no  objections  to 
make,  and  we  began  a  task  which  proved  to  be  much  simpler 
than  we  had  imagined.     Mona  had  heard  us  talk  so  much 


AND    ONE    WOMAN,  41 

that  she  had  half-learned  a  great  many  words  and  expres- 
sions, and  her  remarkable  quickness  of  intellect  helped  her 
to  pick  up  their  meaning  rapidly  as  soon  as  we  gave  her  sys- 
tematic aid.  Hence  it  was  not  long  before  she  began  to 
converse  with  considerable  freedom. 

From  the  first  the  doctor  and  I  had  been  curious  to  know 
if  she  would  give  up  the  musical  tone  and  simply  talk  as 
\ye  did,  and  we  were  pleasantly  surprised  to  find  that  her 
song  was  not  interrupted  by  the  form  of  words  she  used. 
Whatever  the  phrase  she  wanted  to  employ  she  turned  it 
into  verse  on  the  instant  and  chanted  it  forth  in  perfect 
melody.  So  spontaneous  was  every  expression  that  her  very 
thoughts  seemed  to  be  framed  in  harmony.  Her  voice  was 
not  obtrusive  nor  monotonous  and  generally  not  loud,  but 
was  always  well  adapted  to  the  sense  of  what  she  was  sing- 
ing. The  tones  mostly  used  in  conversation  were  low  and 
sweet,  like  rippling  water,  but  these  were  constantly  varied 
by  the  introduction  of  notes  of  greater  power  and  range. 

To  have  such  use  made  of  our  rugged  speech  was  a  revela- 
tion to  us,  and  words,  as  we  employ  them,  are  inadequate 
to  express  our  enjoyment  of  Mona's  song,  when  to  its 
former  beauty  was  added  the  clear  enunciation  of  language 
that  we  could  understand. 

It  was  through  this  rare  medium  that  the  doctor  and  I 
learned,  from  day  to  day,  something  of  the  history  of 
Mona's  race.  The  surface  of  the  moon  had  once  been 
peopled,  as  we  supposed,  but  as  the  day  of  decay  and  death 
approached  the  outside  of  the  globe  became  too  inhospi- 
table to  longer  support  life.  The  interior  had  cooled  and 
contracted,  and  as  the  solid  crust  was  rigid  enough  to  keep 
its  place,  great,  sublunar  caverns  had  been  formed.  Into 
these  rushed  the  water  and  the  atmosphere,  accompanied  by 
the  few  remaining  inhabitants.     The  conditions  were  not 


42  DAYBREAK. 

favorable,  in  such  places,  to  the  continuation  of  the  race, 
although  their  advanced  knowledge  in  every  direction  pre- 
vented them  from  melting  away  suddenly. 

Settlements  had  been  formed  in  many  different  sections 
of  the  moon,  and  interior  communication  was  established 
between  them.  As  the  people  gradually  passed  away,  those 
who  remained  naturally  drew  nearer  together  until  at  last 
the  remnant  of  the  population  of  the  globe  were  all  gathered 
in  the  little  village  where  we  were  now  living.  Here  the 
process  still  went  on,  and  year  after  year  saw  a  constantly 
diminishing  number.  A  few  years  before  our  arrival 
Mona's  last  companion,  a  girl  of  her  own  age,  had  died, 
and  ever  since  then  this  tuneful  creature,  possessed  of  the 
most  sunny  disposition  we  had  ever  known,  had  lived  alone, 
with  the  knowledge  that  there  was  not  another  living  being 
in  all  the  moon. 

"  So  you  see,"  she  sang,  "  I  was  as  glad  to  find  you  as 
you  were  to  hear  me." 

"  But,"  asked  the  doctor,  "  how  did  you  know  we  were 
out  there,  nearly  ready  to  be  blown  off  into  space?  " 

"  I  didn't  know  it  till  I  saw  you.  I  went  out  to  try  to 
discover  what  was  the  matter  with  my  old  world.  For  some 
time  I  had  had  the  queerest  sensations  imaginable.  I  was 
accustomed  to  being  out  of  doors  a  great  deal,  and  I  first 
began  to  notice  that  I  could  walk  and  run  more  easily  than 
before.  I  was  becoming  rather  sprightly  for  one  who  was  so 
soon  to  pass  off  this  deserted  stage.  Then  everything  1  took 
up  seemed  to  be  growing  marvelously  light,  and  I  began  to 
have  a  feeling  that  I  must  hold  on  to  all  my  movable  posses- 
sions, to  keep  them  from  getting  away.  After  this  unac- 
countable state  of  things  had  existed  for  a  while,  there  came, 
one  day,  a  terrible  shock,  which  threatened  to  crack  the 
moon's  skull  and  rattle  its  fragments  down  upon  my  head. 


AND    ONE    WOMAN,  43 

This  was  followed  at  intervals  by  similar  or  lighter  shocks, 
and  it  was  all  so  exceedingly  unusual  that  I  became  very 
curious  to  know  what  was  happening.  Then  all  was  quiet 
for  many  days,  but  when  at  length  the  quakings  began  again 
my  natural  instinct  of  self-preservation  told  me  I  ought  not 
to  take  the  risk  of  another  such  siege,  and  so  I  started  to 
make  my  way  to  the  surface  by  a  well-known  path.  The 
trouble  did  not  continue  as  I  feared,  but  I  kept  on,  fortu- 
nately for  you  as  well  as  for  myself,  and  found  the  outside 
world  too  uncomfortable  a  place  for  any  of  us  to  remain  in 
longer  than  necessary." 

This  halting  prose  represents  the  meaning  of  what  Mona 
said,  but  it  gives  a  feeble  idea  of  the  beauty  of  her  poetic 
expressions,  chanted  in  melodious  phrase  and  in  ever-chang- 
ing, ever-joyous  tune. 

We  replied  by  explaining  to  her  what  had  happened  to  her 
disjointed  world,  expressing  our  gratitude  also  for  her  kind- 
ness in  bringing  us  to  her  sheltered  home. 


CHAPTER   V. 

OUR    INTRODUCTION    TO    MARS. 

Ever  since  the  doctor  had  been  inside  of  the  moon  he 
had  not  ceased  to  regret  that  we  had  left  all  our  goods  in 
the  car  of  our  balloon.  He  mourned  the  loss  of  the  instru- 
ments and  other  apparatus  which  had  cost  him  so  much  care, 
and  then  there  were  our  official  papers.  Our  introduction 
to  Mona  had  been  rather  too  informal,  and  we  thought  we 
might  stand  better  with  her  if  we  could  show  her  our  cre- 
dentials, though,  to  be  sure,  she  could  not  read  them. 

Several  times  the  doctor  proposed  to  me  that  we  should 
go  out  and  bring  in  what  we  could  carry  if,  perchance,  we 
should  find  the  wind  had  left  us  anything.  But  I  had  my 
own  reasons  for  preferring  to  remain  where  we  were.  I 
was  happy  and  was  expecting  every  day  to  be  happier  still, 
and  so  I  put  the  doctor  off  by  reminding  him  that  the 
weather  was  very  bad  outside  and  that  we  had  been  glad 
enough  to  get  in  with  our  lives. 

I  think  he  would  have  agreed  with  me  and  would  have 
been  contented  to  stay  if  the  question  had  been  left  entirely 
to  ourselves.  But  Mona  heard  us  talking  it  over  one  day 
and  said  we  could  go  without  much  risk  if  we  cared  to  try 
it,  and  she  would  go  with  us  to  take  care  of  us. 

Although  it  would  be  difficult  to  tell  how  Mona  could 
help  us  when  we  were  outside,  this  idea  sounded  so  assuring 
that  the  doctor  determined  to  make  the  attempt.     I  was 


OUR    INTRODUCTION    TO    MARS.  45 

obliged  to  acquiesce,  fearing,  in  my  ignorance  of  all  that 
was  to  happen  to  us,  that  the  trip  would  keep  me  too  much 
from  Mona's  side. 

After  due  preparation  we  started,  and  reached  the  upper 
end  of  the  long  passage  without  incident.  But  as  we 
emerged  we  noticed  that  the  light  had  a  peculiar  tinge  of 
red,  quite  different  from  its  usual  tone.  Meditating  on 
this  phenomenon,  and  speaking  to  each  other  as  we  could 
find  breath,  we  ascended  the  side  of  the  crater,  when  there 
burst  upon  our  view  a  magnificent  world,  apparently  but  a 
little  way  off.  Its  ruddy  face  showed  us  plainly  what  had 
caused  the  red  light,  and  the  doctor  made  haste  to  exclaim  : 

"  Aha  !  let  me  introduce  you  to  the  planet  Mars." 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "and  we  may  become  too  well  ac- 
quainted before  a  great  while  if  our  rapid  flight  is  not 
checked." 

We  soon  found  our  car  just  as  we  had  left  it,  and  were 
glad  to  take  advantage  of  its  shelter.  In  the  new  danger 
which  loomed  up  before  us  so  threateningly,  we  all  agreed 
that  it  would  be  rash  to  return  into  the  interior  of  the  moon, 
to  be  crushed  to  death  in  the  shock  of  the  impending  colli- 
sion;  and  yet,  in  remaining  where  we  were,  the  doctor  and 
I  felt  that  no  reputable  insurance  company  would  call  our 
lives  a  very  good  risk. 

But  now  was  our  opportunity  to  witness  some  of  the 
depths  of  Mona's  character.  What  was  there  in  her  nature 
so  entirely  different  from  anything  we  had  ever  known? 
We  had  seen  persons  of  cheerful  disposition  before,  and 
had  heard  of  many  exhibitions  of  courage  and  indifference 
to  danger,  but  here  we  had  the  very  personification  of  fear- 
lessness and  contentment.  She  talked  freely  of  our  situa- 
tion and  of  what  was  likely  to  happen,  but  appeared  to  be 
as  light-hearted  as  ever,  and  her  song  was  just  as  cheerful  as 


46  DAYBREAK. 

it  had  been  in  her  quiet  home.  When  we  asked  her  if  she 
were  not  afraid,  she  replied  that  there  was  no  such  word  in 
her  language  and  she  could  not  appreciate  its  meaning. 

"  Fear,"  said  the  doctor,  "  is  a  feeling  excited  by  the 
apprehension  of  danger." 

"  I  think  I  know  about  the  danger  we  are  in,"  she 
answered,  "  but  I  have  not  the  feeling  you  are  trying  to 
describe.  When  I  was  alone  in  my  underground  village 
and  thought  the  roof  was  about  to  fall  down  and  bury  me 
there,  I  had  no  fear,  as  you  say.  I  know  that  Avhatever  has 
come  to  me  or  to  any  of  my  race  has  always  been  for  our 
good,  and  I  am  sure  it  will  be  so  in  the  future.  I  have  but 
a  short  time  to  remain  as  the  sole  inhabitant  of  this  now 
useless  globe,  and  the  manner  of  my  taking  off  is  not  of  the 
slightest  moment.  This  old  world's  day  is  now  passed,  and 
I  realize  in  that  fact  the  reason  for  its  unseemly  behavior, 
first  knocking  its  toughened  crust  so  rudely  against  the 
earth  and  then  coquetting  in  this  manner  with  Mars.  It 
certainly  no  longer  shows  any  respect  for  the  race  it  has 
nourished,  and  hence  I  see  that  my  day,  too,  will  soon  be 
over.  Whatever  may  be  your  fate  you  will  doubtless  see  no 
more  of  me  after  this  excursion  is  ended." 

In  the  light  of  history  this  seemed  extremely  probable, 
and  yet  Mona  was  not  half  as  concerned  about  it  as  I  was. 
I  thought  she  ought  to  have  shown  more  anxiety  about  her 
future  for  my  sake  if  not  for  her  own,  and  I  ventured  to 
say,  although  in  a  rather  doleful  tone  : 

"  I  hope,  Mona,  if  the  doctor  and  I  are  freed  from  this 
peril  that  you  will  escape  with  us.  If  I  thought  there  was 
no  hope  of  that,  I  am  sure  I  should  propose  that  we  return 
at  once  to  the  middle  of  the  moon  and  be  buried  together." 

She  laughed  aloud  as  she  sang  out  in  joyous    notes  : 

"  Your  mournful  voice,  my  ardent  friend,  makes  me  think 


OUR    INTRODUCTION    TO    MARS.  47 

you  would  not  be  very  happy  with  the  last  alternative. 
But  cheer  up,  we  will  all  stand  by  each  other  to  the  last." 

It  was  in  her  abounding  good  nature  and  in  her  faculty 
for  inspiring  us  with  her  own  hopeful  disposition  that  we 
found  Mona  fulfilling  her  promise  to  take  care  of  us. 

But  now  our  attention  could  not  be  diverted  from  the 
planet  which  was  rapidly  growing  before  our  eyes.  As  we 
approached  nearer  and  nearer  every  minute,  flying  at  such 
a  terrific  rate  and  aimed,  apparently,  for  a  direct  collision, 
it  may  be  imagined  that  the  doctor  and  I,  in  spite  of  Mona's 
presence,  began  to  be  exceedingly  anxious  lest  our  journey 
and  our  lives  should  meet  an  abrupt  and  common  end. 

Unless  such  excursions  as  ours  become  more  frequent  in 
the  future,  it  will  probably  always  remain  a  mystery  how  this 
one  came  to  a  close.  I  can  only  relate  our  experience  during 
the  time  that  we  retained  our  consciousness,  and  leave  the 
imagination  to  picture  the  rest.  As  we  entered  the  atmos- 
phere of  the  planet,  the  rush  of  air  increased  till  it  seemed 
as  if  a  hundred  Niagaras  were  sounding  in  our  ears.  I 
remember  having  a  dim  feeling  of  satisfaction  in  the  belief 
that  such  a  violent  contact  with  the  atmosphere  must 
impede  the  moon's  progress,  and  offer  us  some  chance  of 
landing  in  safety.  Then  I  was  bereft  of  all  sense,  and 
when  I  regained  consciousness  I  was  lying  in  the  bottom 
of  our  car  in  perfect  quiet  and  apparently  unharmed. 

I  called  aloud  for  the  doctor,  but  no  voice  replied.  Ris- 
ing, I  looked  about  me  and  found  I  was  afloat  on  a  ruddy 
sea,  alone,  as  far  as  my  senses  could  inform  me,  alone  in  a 
new  world.  Such  a  sensation  of  homesickness  came  over 
me,  such  a  longing  for  human  fellowship,  that  our  former 
lonesome  condition  on  the  moon  seemed  like  a  paradise 
compared  to  my  present  wretchedness. 

So  this  was  Mars,  which  we  had  studied  with  our  telescopes 


DAYBREAK, 


and  about  whose  condition  and  history  we  had  so  often 
speculated.  And  now,  as  I  leaned  my  elbows  on  the  edge 
of  the  car  and  gazed  off  over  the  deep,  I  wondered,  with 
more  interest  than  I  had  ever  before  possessed,  if  the  world 
I  had  discovered  were  inhabited.  Perhaps  because  it  was 
such  a  vital  question  with  me,  my  naturally  hopeful  dis- 
position began  to  find  reasons  for  a  cheerful  view.  There 
were  certainly  favorable  evidences  all  about  me.  I  was 
breathing  an  atmosphere  evidently  made  for  lungs  like 
mine.  The  air  was  soft  and  pleasant,  and  though  I  was 
drenched  with  water  by  my  fall  I  was  not  uncomfortable. 
I  tasted  the  water  and,  oh  !  joyful  reminder  of  home,  it  was 
salt.  The  sun  shed  a  beautiful  light  around  me,  and  as  I 
glanced  upward  to  see  how  bright  and  cheerful  the  sky  was, 
my  reverie  was  suddenly  broken  off,  for  directly  over  my 
head,  poised  as  quietly  as  if  it  had  always  been  there,  was 
our  old  moon.  It  seemed  but  a  few  miles  away  and  I  gazed 
at  it  with  mixed  feelings,  with  thankfulness  that  I  had 
escaped  from  its  inhospitable  surface  with  my  life,  and 
with  scorn  for  its  present  behavior.  For  there  it  was, 
apparently  perfectly  at  home  and  ready  to  bear  the  torch 
for  Mars  as  faithfully  as  it  always  had  for  the  earth,  its 
rightful  mistress. 

"  Inconstancy,"  I  cried,  "  thy  name  is  Luna." 
When  the  novelty  of  this  sensational  discovery  was  gone, 
my  mind  returned  to  the  contemplation  of  myself,  and  my 
situation  seemed  to  me  so  unique  as  to  remove  some  of  the 
natural  feeling  of  fear.  When  one  is  shipwrecked  in  the 
ordinary  way  his  anxiety  is  caused  by  the  uncertainty  that 
anyone  will  come  to  his  rescue  ;  while  in  my  case  I  did  not 
even  know  there  was  anyone  to  come.  But  when  I  looked  up 
at  the  moon  and  remembered  its  erratic  climate  and  our 
wild,  unearthly  journey,  I  could  not  suppress  a  feeling  of 


K'*Q5-'#^'- 


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THORWAl.D    DISCOVERS    ONE    OF   THE    EARTH-DWEI.LERS. 


OUR    INTRODUCTION    TO    MARS.  49 

satisfaction  with  my  changed  condition.  If  the  doctor  had 
only  been  with  me  we  would  have  been  able  to  extract  con- 
siderable comfort  from  our  surroundings.  But,  as  it  was,  I 
was  very  lonesome,  and  whatever  consolation  I  got  from  my 
reasoning  about  the  planet's  habitability  was  increased  a 
thousand  fold  by  seeing  a  speck  upon  the  horizon,  which  I 
hoped  might  prove  to  be  a  sail.  I  watched  it  with  intense 
interest,  and  was  not  disappointed.  I  will  not  try  to 
describe  my  feelings  as  this  ship  of  Mars  approached  me, 
while  I  sat  wondering  what  manner  of  men  I  should  see. 
The  first  thing  that  struck  me  was  the  enormous  size  of  the 
craft,  and  as  it  drew  near  I  could  see  that  it  was  manned 
by  beings  proportionately  large,  I  now  began  to  fear  I 
should  be  run  down,  but  soon  I  noticed  one  of  the  passen- 
gers or  crew  who  seemed  to  be  looking  at  me  through  a 
glass.  In  a  little  while  the  vessel  slowed  up,  and  a  boat  Avas 
put  off  in  which  a  number  of  giants,  including  the  man 
with  the  glass,  rowed  toward  me.  When  they  had  nearly 
reached  me  I  heard  the  latter  say  to  the  others  : 

"  Yes,  this  is  surely  the  little  fellow  we  are  searching 
for." 

I  could  not  imagine  what  he  meant  by  this,  although  it 
occurred  to  me  that  it  was  a  pleasant  thing  to  have  him 
speak  good,  plain  English ;  but  the  other  circumstances 
were  so  entirely  novel  that,  instead  of  opening  the  conversa- 
tion with  some  conventional  remark,  like  a  sensible  person, 
I  burst  out  with  : 

"  But  Proctor  says  Mars  has  passed  its  life-bearing 
period." 

I  hardly  knew  what  I  said,  but  it  proved  that  they  were 
just  the  words  to  commend  me  to  my  new  friend,  for  as  he 
reached  over  and  lifted  me  into  the  boat  he  said  : 

"  Why,  how  did  you  know  Proctor?     You  must  have  mis- 
4 


50  DAYIiREAK. 

umlerstoo!!  him,  for  he  would  never  say  such  a  thing  as 
that." 

While  I  was  })uzzling  over  this  strange  speech  he  con- 
tinued : 

"  I  think  we  have  some  one  in  the  ship  whom  you  will 
be  glad  to  see." 

I  began  to  fear  I  should  not  get  on  very  well  in  Wars  if 
all  the  inhabitants  talked  in  such  riddles,  but  I  said,  as 
politely  as  I  could  : 

"  I  am  sure  I  need  not  wait  to  get  to  the  ship  to  be 
pleased.  I  am  delighted  to  see  you  and  your  companions 
here." 

While  we  were  returning  to  the  vessel  I  gave  Thorsvald, 
for  such  I  found  to  be  his  name,  a  brief  account  of  our 
journey  on  the  moon  and  of  my  mysterious  arrival  on  their 
planet.  I  expatiated  on  the  merits  of  the  doctor,  and  told 
Thorwald  that  he  was  probably  still  on  the  moon  or  else  at 
the  bottom  of  their  ocean. 

I  was  thinking  that  Thorwald  did  not  show  much  sym- 
pathy with  me,  when,  our  boat  having  nearly  reached  the 
ship's  side,  I  looked  up  and  saw  the  doctor  himself  stand- 
ing on  the  deck,  a  pigmy  among  giants.  I  was  soon  by  his 
side,  and  we  embraced  before  our  new-found  friends  without 
a  blush. 

"  Where's  j\lona?  "   were  the  first  words  he  said. 

' '  Mona  !  "   I  repl  ied.     ' '  W'ho's  Mona  ?  ' ' 

"  Who's  Mona?  "  he  returned.  "  Well,  you  have  recov- 
ered pretty  rapidly." 

I  now  discovered  that,  although  I  had  found  the  body  of 
my  friend,  the  best  part  of  him  was  missing.  In  the  fall 
from  the  moon  he  had  evidently  lost  his  wits.  I  thought  I 
would  not  let  him  know  too  suddenly  what  was  the  matter, 
and  so  I  merely  said : 


OUR    INTRODUCTION    TO    MARS.  ^t 

"  Yes,  I  went  into  the  water,  but  was  not  much  hurt. 
When  I  came  to  my  senses  I  found  myself  in  our  car  still. 
Tell  me  how  you  escaped." 

*'  Oh,  I  happened  to  fall  near  this  ship,  fortunately,  and 
they  picked  me  up,  and  then,  at  my  request,  they  set  out 
to  search  for  you  and  Mona." 

*'  Well,"  said  I,  "  you  found  me,  and  I  am  very  thankful 
for  it,  but  Mona  I  fear  you  will  never  see." 

"  What  was  the  last  you  saw  of  her?  "   he  asked. 

I  had  great  difficulty  in  keeping  myself  from  laughing  in 
the  doctor's  face  at  his  odd  fancy,  but  the  thought  came  to 
me  with  some  force  that  I  must  not  let  his  mental  condi- 
tion become  known  to  the  men  of  Mars  around  us ;  and  so, 
instead  of  replying  to  his  question,  I  turned  to  Thorwald 
and  asked  him  if  he  could  tell  us  how  the  moon  had  landed 
us  so  easily  on  their  planet. 

In  answer  he  gave  it  as  his  opinion  that  as  the  moon 
came  rushing  toward  them  so  swiftly  it  compressed  the  air 
in  its  path  to  such  a  degree  that  it  acted  as  a  cushion, 
preventing  a  collision  and  sending  the  moon  bounding  back 
over  the  path  by  which  it  had  come.  Probably  at  the 
moment  when  it  was  nearest  the  surface,  we  had  fallen  off 
into  the  ocean.  The  rebound,  he  supposed,  was  not  suffi- 
cient to  carry  it  beyond  the  attraction  of  the  planet,  and  so 
it  poised  itself  and  began  to  make  a  revolution  around  Mars 
in  its  old-fashioned  way. 

Thorwald  told  us  we  had  taken  the  best  possible  time  to 
visit  them,  for  Mars  had  not  been  so  near  the  earth  before 
in  a  great  while. 

Our  new  acquaintances  were  from  nine  to  ten  feet  tall 
and  proportionately  large  every  other  way,  so  that  they 
appeared  quite  monstrous  to  us.  But  they  were  agile  and 
even  graceful   in  their  movements,  while  in  manner  they 


52  DAYBREAK. 

were  so  gentle  and  pleasing  that  we  recognized  at  once  their 
high  culture. 

The  vessel  was  soon  under  way  and  made  rapid  progress, 
and  though  our  voyage  was  not  very  long,  it  proved  to  be 
an  exceedingly  profitable  one  to  the  doctor  and  me,  for  we 
learned  more,  through  conversation  with  our  new  friends, 
about  the  history  and  condition  of  Mars  than  we  could  have 
gained  in  any  other  way.  The  men  were  all  kind  to  us  and 
seemed  to  be  all  equally  able  to  impart  information,  but 
most  of  our  intercourse  was  with  Thorwald.  He  gave  us 
much  of  his  time,  at  internals  as  he  could  be  spared  from 
work,  for  every  man  helped  at  the  service  of  the  ship. 
There  seemed  to  be  no  system  of  leadership,  but  all 
appeared  to  know  what  was  to  be  done,  and  did  it  without 
orders  and  without  clashing. 

As  we  entered  into  conversation  about  the  earth  and  i\Iars, 
I  was  surprised  to  find  the  doctor  taking  his  full  share  in 
it  with  his  usual  intelligence.  His  questions  and  answers 
were  all  so  pertinent  that  I  should  have  supposed  his  mind 
was  entirely  unaffected,  had  I  not  known  to  the  contrary. 
When  I  saw  he  could  hold  his  own  so  well,  I  determined  to 
take  the  first  opportunity  when  we  were  alone  to  ask  him 
aarain  who  Mona  was. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


A    REMARKABLE    PEOPLE. 


The  conversation  with  our  new  friends  was  not  all  on  one 
side,  for  we  had  many  questions  to  answer  about  the  earth, 
the  Martian  mind  showing  as  great  a  thirst  for  knowledge 
as  ours.  One  of  the  first  things  Thorwald  said  after  we  had 
settled  down  to  a  good  talk  was  : 

"  But,  Doctor,  your  little  head  is  so  full  of  thought  that 
it  seems  to  me  you  ought  not  to  have  been  surprised  to  find 
us  so  large  here.  You  knew  before  you  came  that  Mars  is 
much  smaller  than  the  earth  and,  therefore,  the  attraction 
of  gravitation  being  less,  that  everything  can  grow  more 
easily.  Things  may  as  well  be  one  size  as  another  if  only 
they  are  well  adapted  to  each  other,  and  we  would  ne\er 
have  known  we  were  large  or  that  you  were  small  had  we 
not  been  brought  together.  In  the  sight  of  Him  who  made 
both  the  earth  and  Mars,  and  fashioned  one  for  you  and  the 
other  for  us,  we  are  neither  great  nor  small.  In  fact,  size 
is  never  absolute  but  only  relative." 

"  That  is  very  clear  to  us  now,"  said  the  doctor,  "  and  I 
promise  not  to  be  surprised  again,  even  when  I  walk  the 
streets  of  your  cities  and  see  you  in  your  houses." 

"Then,  Doctor,"  said  I,  "  if  we  had  found  inhabitants 
on  the  moon  what  great  folks  they  must  have  seemed 
to  us." 

This  was  an  exceedingly  foolish  remark  for  me  to  make. 


54 


DAYBREAK. 


for  it  resulted  in  the  doctor's  almost  betraying  his  condi- 
tion to  our  friends. 

Of  course  Thorwald  was  interested  in  what  I  said,  and 
eagerly  inquired  : 

"  So  you  found  no  inhabitants  in  the  moon?  " 

"  Just  one,"  spoke  up  the  doctor  quickly. 

"  What !  you  found  one  and  left  him  there?  " 

"  It  was  a  woman,"  said  the  doctor. 

This  talk  had  been  so  rapid  that  I  had  not  had  a  chance 
to  interfere,  but  I  saw  that  I  must  stop  it  now  for  the  doc- 
tor's sake.  When  I  could  see  him  alone  I  could  tell  him 
his  memory  was  playing  him  a  trick  and  he  must  avoid 
that  subject.  So,  before  Thorwald  could  speak  again,  I 
said ; 

"  Let  me  suggest,  Thorwald,  that  we  let  the  moon  rest 
till  we  have  heard  more  of  Mars,  which  I  am  sure  is  of 
greater  importance.  We  have  told  you  many  things  i-n 
regard  to  our  planet,  and  are  willing  to  answer  all  the 
questions  j^ou  may  please  to  ask  from  time  to  time,  but  now 
we  would  like  to  listen  a  while." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  "  we  started  on  this  expedition 
to  add  to  our  scientific  knowledge,  and  we  seem  in  a  fair 
way  to  accomplish  our  purpose ;  so  that,  if  you  will  find  a 
way  to  send  us  back  to  the  earth  some  time,  I  think  our 
friends  will  admit  that  we  have  been  successful.  But  first 
we  want  to  learn  all  we  can  about  this  wonderful  world. 
How  long  has  your  race  existed?  Our  astronomers  tell  us 
Mars  is  too  old  to  be  inhabited,  and,  considering  some  of 
my  own  recent  experiences  in  finding  my  science  unreliable, 
it  rather  consoles  me  to  discover  that  they  are  mistaken." 

"They  are  right,"  Thorwald  answered,  "in  believing 
that  Mars  is  very  old,  and  so  our  race  is  nearing  its  matu- 
rity.    It  is  impossible  to  judge  accurately  of  the  age  of  the 


A    REMARKABLE    PEOPLE.  55 

planet  itself,  but  we  know  it  is  exceedingly  old  from  the 
evidences  of  changes  that  have  taken  place  on  its  surface. 
Neither  can  we  tell  when  our  race  was  born,  though  we 
have  legends  and  traditions  dating  back  fifty  thousand  years, 
and  authentic  history  for  nearly  half  that  time." 

The  doctor  and  myself  now  began  to  realize  that  we 
had  indeed  something  to  learn  from  these  people,  and  I 
remarked  : 

"  These  figures  astonisli  us,  Thorwald,  and  you  can 
hardly  understand  how  interested  we  are.  But  please  con- 
tinue. From  what  little  I  have  seen  I  should  think  you 
are  much  farther  advanced  in  everyway  than  the  inhabitants 
of  the  earth." 

"  We  believe,"  replied  the  Martian,  "  that  our  planet  is 
much  older  than  the  earth,  and  if  we  are  right  in  that  it  is 
but  natural  that  our  civilization  should  be  older  al;;o.  If 
the  tendency  of  mind  is  toward  perfection,  if  in  your 
experience  you  have  found  that,  in  the  main,  men  look 
upward  more  than  dowmward,  what  would  you  expect  to  find 
in  a  world  so  beautiful  as  this  and  where  life  has  existed  so 
long?  From  what  we  know  of  our  own  history  and  from 
what  we  have  learned  of  the  worlds  around  us,  we  believe 
the  life-bearing  period  of  Mars  has  long  since  passed  its 
middle  point,  and  that  both  our  planet  and  our  race  have 
passed  through  convulsions  and  changes  to  which  other 
worlds,  perhaps  the  earth,  are  now  subjected." 

This  appeared  so  reasonable  that  I  said  to  him  : 

"  We  must  believe  that  Mars  is  an  afternoon  planet.  And 
now  we  want  to  hear  whatever  you  may  choose  to  tell  us 
about  your  civilization." 

"  That  is  a  broad  subject,"  replied  Thorwald,  ''  but  it  is 
something  I  like  to  talk  about.  If  I  judge  rightly  of  what 
you  have  already  told  me  of  the  earth  and  its  people,  I 


56  DAYBREAK. 

think  we  were  in  just  about  your  situation  ages  ago  and 
that  we  have  merely  matured.  That  is,  the  causes  now  at 
work  on  the  earth  are  having  in  us  their  legitimate  effect. 
These  processes  are  slow  but  sure.  To  the  Infinite  time  is 
of  no  more  importance  in  itself  than  is  size. 

"  I  know  of  no  better  topic  to  begin  with,"  continued 
Thorwald,  "  than  the  matter  of  government.  You  wondered 
at  the  peculiar  discipline  on  board  this  ship.  It  is  but  a 
type  of  what  you  will  find  on  land.  We  have  no  govern- 
ment in  its  strict  sense,  for  there  is  no  one  that  needs  gov- 
erning. We  have  organization  for  mutual  help  in  many 
ways,  but  no  rulers  nor  legislators.  The  only  government  is 
that  of  the  family.  Here  character  is  formed  so  that  when 
the  children  go  forth  into  the  world  no  one  desires  to  wrong 
his  neighbor.  We  know  from  our  histories  of  all  the 
struggles  our  ancestors  passed  through  before  the  days  of 
universal  peace  and  brotherhood.  Now  we  go  and  come  as 
we  please,  with  no  fear  of  harm.  We  are  all  one  nation 
because  all  national  boundaries  have  been  obliterated,  and 
we  have  a  common  language.  There  are  no  laws  of  com- 
pulsion or  restraint,  for  all  do  by  instinct  what  is  best  for 
themselves  and  their  neighbors." 

"  Oh,  happy  Mars  !  "  here  broke  in  the  usually  prosaic 
doctor.  "  That  sounds  like  a  story.  And  yet  what  is  it," 
he  continued,  addressing  me,  "  but  the  effect  of  perfect 
obedience  to  our  golden  rule?  If  men  should  really  learn 
to  do  to  others  as  they  would  have  others  do  to  them,  what  a 
transformation  it  would  accomplish," 

"  So  that  is  what  you  call  the  golden  rule,  is  it?  "  asked 
Thorwald.     "And  are  you  all  trying  to  live  by  it?  " 

"Well,"  I  replied,  "that  is  what  many  of  us  ])rofess 
to  be  doing,  but  I  must  say  we  fall  far,  very  far  short  of  the 
mark.     I  do  not  know  a  single  inhabitant  of  the  earth,  with 


A    REMARKABLE    PEOPLE.  57 

the  possible  exception  of  my  companion  here,  who  fully 
obeys  that  command." 

The  doctor's  smile  was  not  lost  on  Thorwald,  who 
replied  : 

"  It  was  rather  too  bad  of  you  to  bring  so  far  away  from 
the  earth  the  only  good  man  the  planet  contained  ;  but  I  am 
glad  to  know  the  golden  rule,  as  you  may  well  call  it,  has 
been  given  to  men.  We  have  had  the  same  here,  and,  oh  ! 
if  I  could  make  you  realize  something  of  the  struggle  our 
race  has  had  in  working  it  into  life  and  practice,  you  would 
gain  some  hope  for  the  people  of  the  earth.  I  mean,  the 
result  of  this  struggle  would  give  you  hope,  for  I  am  not 
ashamed  to  say  that  we  are  now  living  up  to  the  full  require- 
ments of  this  law,  and  if  you  should  spend  the  remainder 
of  your  lives  with  us  I  am  sure  you  would  not  find  my  state- 
ment untrue.  It  is  only  by  actually  loving  our  neighbors 
as  ourselves  that  we  are  able  to  live  as  we  do.  The  law  of 
love  has  replaced  the  law  of  force.  It  is  well  for  you  to 
understand  this  at  the  beginning,  for  it  is  the  secret  of 
our  wonderful  success  in  all  the  higher  forms  of  civiliza- 
tion." 

"  It  must  have  helped  you  greatly,"  said  I,  "  in  the  mat- 
ter of  which  you  have  just  been  speaking,  that  of  govern- 
ment." 

"Yes,  it  has,"  he  replied.  "In  our  histories  we  have 
full  accounts  of  the  long  course  of  events  when  we  were 
divided  into  hundreds  of  nations,  each  with  its  own  pride 
and  ambition,  and  each  striving  to  build  up  itself  upon  the 
misfortunes  or  the  ruins  of  its  neighbors.  You  can  perhaps 
imagine  what  a  mass  of  material  we  have  for  reading  and 
study." 

"  We  can,"  spoke  up  the  student  doctor,  "  and  it  fairly 
makes   my   mouth   water.     But   tell   us   briefly,    Thorwald, 


58  DAYBREAK. 

how  you  ever  passed  from  those  troublous  times  to  the 
blissful  state  in  which  we  now  find  you." 

"  The  transition  was  exceedingly  slow ;  it  seemed,  in  fact, 
impossible  that  such  a  change  could  ever  be  effected.  But 
it  began  with  the  establishment  of  universal  peace,  which 
was  demanded  by  the  growing  spirit  of  brotherly  love,  and 
assisted  by  commercial  reciprocity  and  a  world  language. 
Gradually  national  boundaries  were  found  to  be  only  an 
annoyance,  and  in  time — a  long  time,  of  course — we  became 
one  nation  and  finally  no  nation.  For  now  no  one  exer- 
cises any  authority  over  his  neighbors,  since  the  need  for 
all  artificial  distinctions  has  long  since  passed  away." 

"Then,"  said  I,  "  you  have  no  doubt  lost  all  fear  and 
anxiety  over  the  conflicting  interests  of  capital  and  labor." 

"  Yes,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  for  we  have  no  such  distinc- 
tions in  society  as  rich  and  poor,  workingmen  and  capital- 
ists. We  all  work  as  we  please,  but  there  is  so  little  to  do 
that  no  one  is  burdened,  and  one  cannot  be  richer  than 
another  because  all  the  material  bounties  of  nature  and  art 
are  common  to  all,  being  as  free  as  the  air.  I  suppose,  as 
this  seems  to  be  strange  talk  to  you,  that  you  cannot  realize 
what  it  is  to  belong  to  a  society  where  everyone  considers 
the  interests  of  his  neighbor  as  much  as  his  own.  You  will 
find  when  you  reach  that  point  that  most  of  your  troubles 
will  be  gone,  as  ours  are." 

"Our  troubles!"  said  the  doctor.  "Many  of  our 
troubles,  to  be  sure,  arise  from  our  passions  and  appetites — 
in  other  words,  from  our  selfishness — and  these  will  no 
doubt  disapi^ear  when  we  reach  that  blessed  state  of  which 
you  have  spoken,  a  condition  prayed  for  and  dimly  expected 
by  many  of  our  race.  But  other  troubles  of  ours  come  from 
sickness  and  severe  toil,  from  accidents,  famines,  and  the 
convulsions  of  nature.     How,  for  example,  can  you  have 


A    REMARKABLE    PEOPLE.  59 

escaped  the  latter,  unless,  indeed,  God  has  helped  those 
who  have  so  wisely  helped  themselves?  " 

"Your  last  thought  is  right,"  answered  our  friend. 
"  Nature  has  certainly  assisted  us.  While  the  crust  of  the 
planet  was  thin  we  know  the  central  fires  heaved  and  shook 
the  ground  and  burst  forth  from  the  mountains,  causing 
great  destruction  and  keeping  the  world  in  fear.  We  do  not 
know  how  thick  the  crust  of  the  planet  now  is,  but  nothing 
has  been  felt  of  those  inner  convulsions  for  many  ages. 
One  of  our  feats  of  engineering  has  been  to  see  how  far  we 
could  penetrate  into  the  surface  of  the  globe.  A  well  of 
vast  size  has  been  dug,  the  temperature  being  carefully  noted 
and  observations  made  of  the  many  different  substances 
passed  through — watep,  coal,  gas,  oil,  and  all  kinds  of  min- 
eral deposits.  The  work  has  progressed  from  one  generation 
to  another,  and  no  one  can  tell  when  it  will  be  called  fin- 
ished, as  it  is  determined  to  dig  toward  the  center  of  the 
planet  as  fast  as  our  ever-increasing  skill  will  permit." 

"  Did  you  find  out  how  thick  the  crust  is?  "   I  asked. 

"  No,"  he  answered,  "  we  are  not  much  nearer  the  solu- 
tion of  that  question  than  before,  but  we  have  made  valu- 
able discoveries  as  to  what  the  crust  is  composed  of.  The 
temperature  has  gradually,  though  slowly,  increased,  and  we 
believe  the  time  will  come  when  the  work  will  have  to  be 
abandoned  on  account  of  the  heat.  We  have  gone  far 
enough  to  know  that  when  the  fuel  on  the  surface  of  our 
globe  is  all  used  up  we  shall  only  have  to  tap  the  center  to 
get  all  the  heat  we  want." 

"  What  a  capital  idea  that  will  be,"  I  interrupted,  "  to 
throw  at  some  of  our  pessimistic  friends  on  the  earth. 
Doctor." 

"We  see  now,  Thorwald,"  my  companion  said,  "that 
your  planet  is  too  old  to  give  you  any  more  trouble  from 


6o  DAYBREAK. 

earthquake  and  volcano,  but  how  about  other  natural  phe- 
nomena, the  tempest  and  cyclone  for  example?  " 

"  Well,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  we  have  a  theory  that 
time,  the  great  healer,  has  cured  these  evils  also.  Let  me 
ask,  Doctor,  if  the  earth  ever  receives  any  accretions  of 
matter  from  outside  its  own  atmosphere?  " 

"  Yes,  we  have  the  fall  of  meteorites,  foreign  substances 
which  we  believe  the  earth  encounters  in  its  path  around 
the  sun." 

"  I  supposed  such  must  be  the  case,"  Thorwald  con- 
tinued. ' '  And  now,  when  you  consider  the  great  age  of  Mars, 
perhaps  you  will  not  be  surprised  to  learn  that  this  new 
matter,  coming  to  us  from  the  outside,  was  sufficient  to 
increase  the  weight  of  our  globe  and  gradually  decrease  the 
rate  of  speed  at  which  we  were  traveling  through  space." 

"  I  am  surprised,  though,"  said  the  doctor,  "  because  the 
accumulation  of  meteorolites  on  the  surface  of  the  earth  is 
so  exceedingly  slow  that  it  would  take  millions  of  years,  at 
the  present  rate,  to  increase  its  diameter  one  inch." 

"  But  perhaps  they  came  much  faster  in  past  ages.  Let 
me  ask  you,  Doctor,  if  it  is  not  a  fact  that  the  rate  of  revo- 
lution of  Mars  around  the  sun  is  slower  than  the  earth's?  I 
suppose  you  are  far  enough  advanced  in  astronomical  sci- 
ence to  answer  that." 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  doctor,  "  you  are  correct.  I  believe 
the  earth  speeds  along  at  nineteen  miles  a  second,  while 
Mars  travels  only  sixteen  miles  in  the  same  time." 

"  We  know  by  our  computations  that  our  speed  is  much 
less  than  it  once  was,  and  our  theory  is  that  this  has  in 
some  way  hushed  those  terrible  storms  and  winds  which  we 
know  were  formerly  so  frequent." 

Here  the  doctor  thought  he  saw  a  chance  to  make  a  point, 
and  spoke  as  follows  : 


A    REMARKABLE    PEOPLE.  6l 

"  If  the  meteorites  come  in  quantities  sufficient  to  have 
caused  such  changes,  it  seems  to  me  their  fall  must  be 
as  great  a  menace  to  your  peace  as  the  evils  they  have 
cured.  They  do  not  strike  the  earth  in  large  numbers,  but 
still  we  have  a  record  of  a  shower  of  meteoric  stones  which 
devastated  a  whole  village.  I  suppose  all  parts  of  your 
globe  are  by  this  time  well  populated,  and  how  can  you  be 
entirely  free  from  trouble  when  you  are  living  in  constant 
danger  of  the  downfall  of  these  great  masses  of  rock?  " 

"  But  we  don't  have  meteorites  now,"  replied  Thorwald. 

"Oh,  you  don't?" 

"  No,  they  ceased  falling  long  ago.  Mars  is  going  slow 
enough  for  the  present." 

"  Very  kind  of  them,  I  am  sure,  to  stop  when  you  didn't 
need  them  any  longer,"  said  the  doctor;  "  and  I  suppose 
you  have  some  plausible  reason  to  give  for  their  disappear- 
ance." 

"  Yes,  we  believe  that  the  interplanetary  space  was  well 
filled  with  these  small  bodies,  circling  around  the  sun,  and 
when  their  multitudinous  and  eccentric  orbits  intercepted 
the  orbits  of  the  planets,  they  came  within  the  attraction 
of  these  larger  masses.  Mars  has  merely,  in  the  course  of 
time,  cleared  for  itself  a  broad  path  in  its  yearly  journey 
and  is  now  encountering  no  more  straggling  fragments." 

"  There,  Doctor,"  said  I,  "  you  are  well  answered.  And 
now,  Thorwald,  tell  us  how  you  have  escaped  other  evils, 
famine  and  fire  for  instance." 

"  Fire,"  continued  our  friend,  "  was  one  of  the  first  foes 
subdued.  We  quite  early  learned  to  make  our  habitations 
and  everything  about  us  of  fireproof  materials,  and,  if  I 
mistake  not,  you  on  the  earth  will  not  long  endure  an  enemy 
which  can  be  so  easily  put  down.  You  will  find  all  mate- 
rials can  beso  treated  with  chemicals  as  to  be  absolutely 


62  DAYBREAK. 

safe  from  the  flames.  We  have  fire  only  when  and  where 
we  desire  it. 

"  When  you  speak  of  famines  you  touch  a  more  difficult 
subject,  but  here,  too,  time  and  skill  have  wrought  wonder- 
ful changes.  In  our  histories  we  read  of  the  time  when  the 
weather  was  chiefly  noted  for  its  fickleness,  and  when  some 
parts  of  our  globe  were  mere  desert  wastes,  where  rain  was 
unknown  and  no  life  could  exist.  And  in  the  inhabited 
portions  one  section  would  often  be  deluged  with  too  much 
rain  while  another  would  have  none,  both  conditions  lead- 
ing to  a  failure  in  agriculture  and  much  consequent  suffer- 
ing. A  long  time  was  spent  in  gathering  statistics,  which 
finally  proved  that  if  the  rainfall  were  distributed  there  would 
be  just  about  enough  to  water  sufficiently  the  whole  surface 
of  the  globe.  Nature  provided  rain  enough,  but  it  did  not 
always  fall  where  and  when  it  was  most  needed.  It  seemed 
to  be  left  with  us  to  find  a  remedy  for  this  apparent  evil. 
When  I  say  '  us  '  in  this  way  I  mean  our  race  as  a  whole, 
for  most  of  these  changes  took  place  many  ages  ago. 

"  Our  philosophers  had  seen  so  many  difficulties  removed 
and  improvements  made  in  things  supposed  to  be  fixed  that 
they  began,  once  upon  a  time,  to  assert  that  rain  and  snow 
and  the  weather  in  general  ought  to  be  subject  to  our  will. 
They  said  that  in  the  advanced  state  of  civilization  toward 
which  we  were  progressing  it  would  seem  to  be  an  anoma- 
lous thing  that  we  should  continue  to  be  subjected  to  the 
annoyances  of  so  changeable  a  tyrant  as  the  weather.  We 
seemed  destined  to  gain  control  of  so  many  of  the  forces  of 
nature  that  our  future  mastery  in  this  department  looked  to 
them  reasonable.  For  a  long  time  these  views  appeared 
fanciful  to  the  many,  but  this  did  not  deter  a  few  enthusi- 
asts from  study  and  experiment.  As  knowledge  and  skill 
increased  we  began,  little  by  little,  to  gain  control  of  the 


A    REMARKABLE    PEOPLE.  63 

elements;  but  do  not  imaij;ine  it  was  anything  less  than  a 
slow  and  laborious  work. 

"  First,  as  we  learned  something  of  the  laws  which  con- 
trol the  precipitation  of  the  moisture  suspended  in  the 
atmosphere,  we  discovered  a  way  to  produce  rain  by  me- 
chanical means.  As  this  discovery  was  gradually  developed 
we  found  we  had  really  solved  the  problem.  For,  as  there 
was  only  a  certain  amount  of  moisture  taken  up  into  the  air, 
the  quantity  of  rain  could  not  be  increased  nor  diminished, 
and  so  when  we  made  it  rain  in  one  place  it  was  always  at 
the  expense  of  the  rainfall  somewhere  else. 

"  Since  those  early  days  vast  improvement  has  been  made, 
until  now  these  laws,  once  so  mysterious  and  so  perplex- 
ing, are  obedient  to  our  service.  The  whole  face  of  our 
planet  has  been  reclaimed,  and  drouth  and  famine  on  the 
one  hand  and  floods  on  the  other  are  entirely  unknown. 
Each  section  of  country  is  given  rain  or  snow  or  sunshine 
just  as  it  needs  it,  and  there  is  no  uncertainty  in  the 
matter." 

When  Thorwald  had  reached  this  point  my  curiosity 
prompted  me  to  ask  him  to  tell  us  in  a  few  words  how  they 
could  make  it  rain  when  they  pleased,  and  he  answered 
that  he  would  be  glad  to  give  us  details  of  all  these  matters 
if  we  insisted  on  it,  but  he  thought  it  would  be  better  for 
him  to  present  a  general  view  of  the  state  of  their  society, 
leaving  it  for  us  to  see  with  our  own  eyes  how  things  were 
done,  after  we  had  reached  our  destination. 

I  readily  acquiesced,  with  an  apology  for  my  interruption, 
and  Thorwald  resumed : 

"  The  doctor  spoke  of  accidents,  sickness,  and  severe  toil 
as  among  the  sources  of  your  troubles.  With  us,  at  the  pres- 
ent day,  all  natural  laws  are  so  well  understood  and  so 
faithfully  obeyed  that  there  are  no  accidents.     Machinery 


64  DAYBREAK. 

and  appliances  of  all  kinds  are  perfect;  nothing  is  left  to 
chance,  but  everything  is  governed  by  law.  And  as  we 
follow  that  law  in  every  instance  nothing  can  ever  happen, 
in  the  old  sense  of  that  word.  To  take  a  homely  example, 
you  have  of  course  learned  that  it  is  not  well  to  put  your 
hand  into  the  fire,  and  so,  though  you  use  a  good  deal  of 
fire  you  keep  your  hands  out  of  it.  You  know  what  the  law 
is,  and  you  do  not  tempt  it.  By  our  long  experience  we 
have  learned  the  operation  of  all  laws,  and  in  every  posi- 
tion in  life  we  simply  avoid  putting  our  hand  into  the  fire. 
To  be  sure,  we  have  been  assisted  in  this  by  superior  skill 
and  by  our  general  steadiness  and  ripeness  of  character.  If 
I  read  history  aright  accidents  were  caused  by  ignorance  or 
neglect  of  law,  and  I  am  sure  the  people  of  the  earth, 
when  they  begin  to  realize  fully  how  unnecessary  they  are, 
will  soon  outgrow  them. 

"  As  for  sickness,  you  cannot  understand  how  strange  the 
word  sounds  to  me.  Just  think  for  a  moment  how  useless, 
how  out  of  place,  such  a  thing  as  sickness  is.  Like  the  sub- 
ject just  spoken  of,  it  comes  from  disobedience  to  law,  and 
although  I  know  we  were  a  long  time  in  ridding  ourselves 
of  it,  it  seems  to  me  now  that  it  must  be  one  of  the  easiest 
of  your  troubles  to  remove.  With  us  the  science  of  medi- 
cine became  so  perfect  that  it  accomplished  a  great  deal  of 
the  reform,  but  more  was  done  by  each  individual  acquiring 
full  knowledge  of  himself  and  acting  up  to  that  knowledge. 
In  learning  to  love  our  neighbors  we  did  not  forget  to  foster 
a  proper  love  for  ourselves.  In  fact,  our  creed  teaches  that 
self-love  is  one  of  our  most  important  duties.  When  one 
is  instructed  to  love  his  neighbor  as  himself  it  is  presup- 
posed that  his  affection  for  himself  is  of  that  high  quality 
that  will  always  lead  him  to  do  the  very  best  he  can  for 
every  part  of  his  being.     So,  as  our  development  continued, 


A    REMARKABLE    PEOPLE.  65 

we  came  in  time  to  love  ourselves  too  well  to  despise  or 
abuse  or  neglect  the  bodies  we  lived  in.  We  studied  how 
best  to  nurture  and  care  for  those  bodies,  and  when  that 
lesson  was  thoroughly  learned  we  found  that  sickness  and 
pain  were  gone,  and  with  them,  also,  all  fear  of  death.  For 
now  we  die  when  our  days  are  fully  ended.  The  span  of 
our  life  has  been  doubled  since  we  began  to  know  and  care  for 
ourselves,  and,  at  the  close,  death  is  anticipated  and  recog- 
nized as  a  friend." 


CHAPTER  VII. 


RAPID    TRANSIT    ON    MARS. 


Here  Thorwald  paused  and  said  he  should  be  obliged  to 
leave  us  a  short  time  to  attend  to  some  duty  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  vessel.  When  he  returned  I  remarked  that 
neither  he  nor  his  companions  seemed  to  have  to  work  very 
hard. 

"That,"  he  answered,  "is  just  the  thought  I  want  to 
speak  of  next,  as  the  doctor  has  said  many  earthly  troubles 
arise  from  severe  labor.  Here  there  is  no  hard  work  for  us. 
It  is  all  done  by  some  kind  of  mechanism.  Look  at  the 
handling  of  this  ship,  in  which,  as  you  say,  no  one  is  bur- 
dened. The  hard  and  disagreeable  parts  of  the  work  are 
taken  out  of  our  hands  and  are  put  into  the  hand  of  machi- 
nery, which  in  its  perfec'tion  is  almost  intelligent.  It  is  so 
in  all  departments  of  work.  Inventions  looking  toward 
the  saving  of  labor  have  closely  followed  each  other  for 
so  many  years  that  their  object  is  about  accomplished, 
and  all  the  pain  and  sorrow  accompanying  daily  toil  are 
things  of  the  dead  past.  Even  our  animals  are  relieved 
from  distressing  labor  and  share  with  us  the  blessings  of  an 
advanced  civilization,  every  heavy  weight  being  raised  and 
every  burdensome  load  being  drawn  by  an  arm  of  steel  or 
aluminum,  which  neither  tires  nor  feels.  We  do  not  need 
to  pity  a  machine.  Why  should  flesh  and  blood,  whether 
of  dumb  beasts  or  of  more  intelligent  beings,  suffer  the  agony 


RAPID    TRANSIT    OX    MARS.  67 

of  labor  when  the  work  can  be  better  done  by  mechanical 
means? 

"  While  speaking  of  the  lower  animals  I  may  as  well  say 
here  that  we  have  no  wild  beasts.  All  have  been  tamed; 
not  merely  brought  into  subjection,  but  made  the  friends 
and  companions  in  a  sense  of  our  higher  race.  Every  ani- 
mal, large  and  small,  has  lost  its  power  and  will  to  harm 
us.  The  wasp  has  lost  its  sting,  the  serpent  its  poison,  and 
the  tiger  its  desire  to  tear.  And  not  only  is  their  enmity 
to  us  all  gone,  but  they  no  longer  prey  upon  each  other. 
Perfect  peace  reigns  in  this  realm  also." 

"  What  has  brought  about  this  highly  interesting  condi- 
tion?" I  asked.  "Was  there  a  natural  tendency  toward 
perfection  on  the  part  of  the  beasts?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  I  think  not.  The  change  has 
been  accomplished  by  us.  Nothing  that  has  life  could  help 
being  uplifted  by  contact  with  our  ever-expanding  civiliza- 
tion. We  believe  the  chief  factor  in  working  this  great 
betterment  in  the  animal  creation  has  been  our  success  in 
entirely  eliminating  ilesh  as  an  article  of  food.  We  early 
came  to  see  it  was  not  necessary  for  ourselves  and  that  with- 
out it  we  were  much  better  prepared  to  assume  the  higher 
duties  belonging  to  our  advanced  life.  We  then  began  to 
experiment  with  the  animals  nearest  us.  It  was  a  slow  and 
discouraging  task  at  first,  but  finally  we  obtained  results  that 
gave  us  hope  of  success.  We  found  in  the  course  of  many 
years  that  the  digestive  organs  of  the  animals  on  which  we 
were  experimenting  were  gradually  becoming  accustomed  to 
a  vegetable  diet.  We  continued  the  work,  extending  it  to 
one  class  of  animals  after  another,  until  in  time  all  car- 
nivorous instincts  disappeared." 

This  interested  the  doctor  exceedingly,  and  he  remarked 
that  he  should  think  there  would  have  been  some  kinds  of 


68  DAYBREAK. 

animals  that  would  resist  all  efforts  to  work  such  a  change 
in  them  ;  but  Thorwald  answered  : 

"  I  have  never  read  of  such  cases,  but  if  there  were  any 
the  species  must  have  become  extinct,  for  now,  in  all 
this  world,  no  conscious  life  is  taken  to  support  another 
life.  No  blood  is  let  for  our  refreshment  and  no  minutest 
creature  is  pursued  and  slain  to  appease  the  appetite  of  its 
stronger  neighbor." 

"  Does  this  condition  extend  even  to  the  fish  of  the  sea?  " 
inquired  the  doctor. 

"  Even  to  the  fish  of  the  sea,"  answered  the  Martian. 

"  Now  that  you  discover,"  he  continued,  "  what  improve- 
ment has  been  wrought  in  the  lower  animals,  you  can  under- 
stand that  their  comfort  is  an  object  of  our  solicitude,  and 
that  we  take  great  pleasure  in  knowing  that  they  are  relieved 
from  all  hard  labor." 

"  But  you  haven't  told  us,"  said  I,  "  what  is  the  source 
of  the  power  that  does  all  your  work." 

"  Let  me  ask,"  replied  Thorwald,  ''  if  you  ha\e  begun  to 
use  electricity  yet?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  we  are  trying  to  harness  it,  but  it 
is  still  far  from  obedient  to  us." 

"  I  perceive,"  said  our  friend,  "  from  this  and  other  things 
you  have  told  me,  that  your  development  is  going  on  in 
about  the  order  which  has  prevailed  on  Mars.  Do  not  be 
discouraged  in  your  efforts  to  bring  that  mysterious  and 
wonderful  agent,  electricity,  into  complete  subjection. 
You  will  find  it  your  most  useful  servant,  and  in  connec- 
tion with  aluminum  it  will  enable  you  to  solve  numerous 
problems  and  remove  many  difficulties  from  your  j)ath  of 
progress. 

"  Here  we  have  made  full  use  of  both  of  these  valuable 
helps.     Electricity  enters  into  every  department  of    life. 


RAPID    TRANSIT    ON    MARS.  69 

It  runs  our  errands,  takes  us  from  place  to  place,  builds  our 
houses,  cooks  our  food,  and  even  is  applied  to  the  growth 
of  our  food  when  we  are  in  haste  for  any  article.  Its  laws 
are  so  well  understood  that  there  is  no  fear  of  personal 
injury  from  its  use,  and  I  will  show  you  how  familiar  an 
aid  it  is  to  us.  Here,"  he  continued,  taking  from  his 
pocket  a  brightly  polished  case  of  metal,  "  is  a  compact 
storage  battery,  containing,  not  electricity  itself,  of  course, 
but  elements  so  prepared  that  a  simple  touch  will  start 
into  motion  a  powerful  current,  able  to  perform  almost 
any  task  I  may  ask  of  it.  This  case,  you  see,  is  so  small 
and  light  that  it  is  no  burden,  and  yet  it  contains  power 
enough  to  serve  me  for  many  days.  Of  course,  all  our  work 
of  a  fixed  character  has  appliances  with  the  power  perma- 
nently attached,  and  these  portable  reservoirs  are  carried 
about  with  us  only  for  detached  and  unexpected  tasks," 

To  my  experienced  eye  the  doctor's  face  looked  a  little 
skeptical  at  this  last  remark,  and  he  said  : 

"  But  how  can  the  power  be  applied  in  these  emergen- 
cies? Suppose,  for  example,  it  were  necessary  for  you  to 
go  from  here  to  the  other  end  of  this  vessel  in  half  a  sec- 
ond, how  would  the  electricity  in  your  box  help  you  do 
it?" 

"  If  I  really  thought,  Doctor,  you  wanted  to  be  rid  of  me 
I  would  be  tempted  to  try  it ;  but,  as  I  told  your  companion 
just  now,  you  had  better  learn  all  you  can  of  our  history 
before  you  begin  to  see  what  we  can  do. 

"  I  haven't  told  you  half  of  the  wonders  performed  by  this 
marvelous  power.  It  has  long  been  our  chief  reliance  for  rapid 
traveling.  You  find  us  in  this  ship  ;  but,  although  navigation 
is  a  perfected  science,  this  mode  of  traveling  is  tedious, 
and  ships  are  used  only  for  pleasure  and  such  out-of-the- 
way  trips  as  this.     Journeys  from  place  to  place  over  estab- 


70  DAYBREAK. 

lished  routes  are  made  in  large  tubes,  in  which  the  cars  are 
propelled  by  electricity.  These  tubes  run  both  on  land  and 
water,  being  suspended  in  the  latter  a  little  way  below  the 
surface.  Both  tubes  and  cars  are  air-tight,  and  the  adjust- 
ment is  so  perfect  that  the  cars  slide  along  with  the  greatest 
ease.  Riding  in  an  air-tight  chamber  would  not  be  pleas- 
ant if  much  time  were  to  be  occupied  in  that  way,  but  the 
cars  are  propelled  so  swiftly  that  the  time  from  one  station 
to  another  is  hardly  appreciable.  At  every  stop  the  cars 
are  opened  and  apparatus  set  in  motion  which  changes  the 
air  completely  almost  in  a  moment.  Where  the  tubes  run 
under  water  shafts  for  air  are  put  in  at  the  stations.  There 
is  always  a  double  line,  one  tube  for  each  direction.  No 
chance  is  left  for  accidents. 

"  Of  course  we  navigate  the  air,  swiftly  and  safely.  If 
not  in  too  much  haste  we  always  take  the  aerial  passage, 
and  often  on  a  pleasant  day  the  sky  over  a  great  city  will  be 
as  full  of  air  ships,  or  balloons  as  we  still  sometimes  call 
them,  as  its  harbor  is  of  pleasure  boats.  In  this  depart- 
ment inventors  had  a  fruitful  field,  the  use  of  aluminum 
offering  abundant  opportunity  for  the  greatest  variety  of 
devices,  and  the  development  of  the  flying  machine  was  one 
of  the  most  interesting  features  in  the  march  toward  our 
present  high  civilization.  Perhaps  the  presence  of  so  many 
electrical  machines  in  the  air  and  the  utilization  of  so 
much  electricity  on  land  and  water  have,  after  thousands  of 
years,  done  much  toward  freeing  us  from  the  thunderstorm, 
with  its  deadly  lightning.  We  have  fairly  robbed  the  clouds 
of  their  electricity  and  taught  it  to  do  our  work. 

"  Swift  and  economical  as  our  modem  electric  cars  are, 
there  is  one  mode  of  traveling  sometimes  adopted  which  is 
more  rapid  still,  and  the  cheapest  and  in  some  respects  the 
easiest  way  of  getting  over  the  surface  of  the  globe  ever 


RAPID    TRANSIT    OX    MARS.  7 1 

dreamed  of.     It  was  discovered  by    accident,  just  before 
accidents  entirely  ceased,  in  the  following  manner  : 

"  A  couple  of  scientific  enthusiasts,  of  the  kind  we  call 
cranks — I  don't  know  what  you  call  them  on  the  earth — 
conceived  the  idea  that  they  could  find  something  better  to 
take  the  place  of  the  highly  purified  and  buoyant  gases 
which  we  used  in  our  flying  machines.  They  obsen'ed,  in 
the  lofty  flights  they  were  accustomed  to  make  into  the  air, 
that  as  they  ascended  the  atmosphere  grew  lighter,  and  this 
led  them  to  think  they  might  go  far  into  the  upper  regions, 
collect  large  quantities  of  rarefied  air,  bring  it  do\\Ti,  and 
use  it  for  floating  flying  machines.  Of  course,  they  under- 
stood that  any  vessel  this  thin  air  was  put  into  must  be 
strong  enough  to  prevent  being  collapsed  by  the  weight  of 
the  denser  atmosphere  on  the  surface.  But  they  thought 
small  spherical  vessels  of  very  thin  metal  could  be  made 
that  would  withstand  this  pressure  and  still  hold  enough  to 
float  and  carr}'  some  weight  besides.  They  had  a  large 
number  of  these  hollow  balls  made  and  started  on  a  trial 
trip,  expecting  to  bring  do\\Ti  only  a  small  quantity  each 
time.  But,  in  their  endeavor  to  obtain  the  verj^  best  quality 
of  lifting  material  possible,  they  went  much  higher  than 
they  intended,  although  this  did  not  cause  them  as  much 
inconvenience  as  might  have  been  expected,  since  they  were 
provided  with  the  latest  improved  breathing  apparatus. 
The  result  of  their  adventure,  however,  was  a  discovery  of 
such  magnitude  that  it  drove  from  their  minds  all  thought 
of  their  real  errand  and  we  never  again  heard  of  that  pro- 
ject. After  remaining  at  an  extreme  height  a  few  hours, 
the  surface  of  the  planet  being  hidden  by  clouds,  they 
began  to  descend,  and  when  they  were  near  enough  to  see 
the  features  of  the  country  below  them,  everything  looked 
strange  and  unkno^^Tl.    They  could  not  account  for  this,  but 


72  DAYBREAK. 

continued  their  fall,  fully  persuaded  that  it  must  be  their 
own  world  and  not  some  other  which  they  were  approach- 
ing. But  even  if  they  had  not  been  correct  in  that,  they 
could  hardly  have  been  more  surprised  than  they  were  to 
find,  on  landing,  that  they  were  almost  exactly  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  globe  from  the  place  where  they  made  the 
ascent.  They  seemed  to  have  traveled  half  way  around  the 
world  in  that  incredibly  short  space  of  time,  when  in  reality 
they  had  remained  stationary  and  the  world  had  traveled 
around  them.  The  fact  is,  they  had  risen  above  all  the 
denser  portion  of  the  planet's  atmosphere,  and  had  reached 
a  stratum  of  extremely  rarefied  air,  which,  it  seems,  does 
not  accompany  the  globe  in  its  revolution.  Of  course,  the 
facts  were  at  once  heralded  to  the  four  quarters  of  the  world, 
and  the  two  aerial  travelers  found  themselves  famous.  But 
they  did  not  wish  to  let  such  an  astounding  discovery  rest 
upon  the  results  of  a  single  experiment,  and  so  they  proved 
themselves  worthy  of  their  new  fame  by  going  home  the 
way  they  came.  That  is,  they  mounted  their  flying  ma- 
chine, rose  again  to  the  same  lofty  height,  remained  there 
about  the  same  time  as  before,  descended,  and  were  near 
their  home." 

Here  the  doctor  asked  : 

"  And  has  this  singular  mode  of  traveling  become  popular, 
Thorwald?" 

"  For  long  distances  east  and  west  it  is  often  resorted  to. 
But  I  presume  you  are  asking  yourself  whether  you  could 
introduce  it  on  the  earth.  When  you  return  and  begin  to 
think  it  over  you  will  probably  see  so  many  practical  diffi- 
culties in  the  way  that  you  will  not  attempt  it.  You  must 
have  patience.  All  these  things  will  come  to  your  race  in 
time." 


CHAPTER   VIII. 


THORWALD    PUZZLED. 


"I  FEAR,"  continued  Thonvald,  "that  I  am  wearying 
you  with  this  long  talk." 

We  assured  him  we  were  enjoying  it  too  much  to  think  of 
being  tired,  and  hoped  he  would  not  stop.  But  he  said  he 
had  some  duties  to  attend  to,  and  would  take  us  to  his  room 
and  leave  us  by  ourselves  for  a  while. 

As  soon  as  we  were  alone  the  doctor  looked  at  me  with  a 
smile  and  said  : 

"  Why  did  you  act  so  queerly  when  I  spoke  of  Mona?  " 

"Why  did  you  speak  so?"  I  asked  in  reply.  "And 
how  could  you  tell  Thonvald  we  found  one  inhabitant  on 
the  moon  ?  ' ' 

"  Did  you  want  to  have  me  tell  him  a  falsehood?  " 

"  Of  course  not.  I  tried  to  catch  your  eye  and  keep  you 
from  saying  anything  on  the  subject  till  we  could  consult  in 
regard  to  it.  If  we  are  going  to  color  our  narrative  in  order 
to  make  it  more  mar\'elouswe  must  at  least  make  our  stories 
agree." 

"  My  friend,"  said  the  doctor,  "  I  am  now  confirmed  in 
my  suspicion  that  your  brain  was  affected  by  your  fall  from 
the  moon." 

I  saw  by  this  time  that  I  need  not  hesitate  further  to  tell 
the  doctor  the  truth.  I  disliked  the  task,  but  I  saw  it  would 
not  be  safe  to  leave  him  any  longer  in  ignorance  of  his  con- 


74  DAVRREAK. 

dition.  There  was  no  telling  what  other  preposterous  tales 
he  might  invent.     So  I  said  to  him  gently : 

"  Doctor,  your  last  remark  makes  it  easier  for  me  to  tell 
you  that  the  first  words  you  said  to  me  on  this  vessel  showed 
me  that  you  were  not  right.  I  kept  it  from  our  new  friends 
here,  and  I  thought  I  had  better  tell  you  how  you  are,  so  you 
can  be  a  little  cautious.  You  talk  all  right  on  most  sub- 
jects, but  you  will  do  well  to  avoid  the  moon  as  a  topic  of 
conversation.  If  the  others  ask  any  more  questions  about 
the  moon,  you  can  just  let  me  answer  them." 

I  said  all  this  seriously  enough,  but  the  doctor  laughed 
boisterously  as  he  answered  : 

"  Well,  if  this  isn't  a  joke.  You  think  I  am  crazy,  and 
I  know  you  are  crazy,  and  I  can  prove  it.  I  will  just  ask 
you  one  question,  which  please  answer  truthfully.  Don't 
you  remember  Mona  ?  ' ' 

"  Oh,  there  is  Mona  again  !  Don't  you  see  that  only 
proves  your  own  madness?  No,  I  don't  remember  Mona; 
and  you  don't  either." 

"  I  must  say,"  returned  the  doctor,  "  I  never  expected 
to  see  you  get  over  your  infatuation  so  quickly." 

"  What  direction  did  my  infatuation,  as  you  call  it, 
take?" 

"  Marriage,  I  should  say." 

"  Now  you  interest  me,"  I  returned,  "  and  you  must  tell 
me  more.  Is  this  Mona  of  yours  the  sole  resident  of  the 
moon,  of  whom  you  spoke  to  Thorwald?  " 

''  Certainly  she  is,  but  you  surely  must  be  out  of  your 
head  to  call  her  my  Mona — I  want  no  stronger  proof." 

"  How  so?"  I  asked. 

"  Why,  because  but  yesterday  you  scarce  wanted  to  have 
me  speak  to  her.  You  tried  to  keep  your  jealousy  from  me, 
but  there  was  not  room  enough  in  all  the  moon  to  hide  it." 


THORWALD    PUZZLED.  75 

"  This  is  very  laughable,"  I  exclaimed. 

"  You  did  not  think  so  then.  But  let  me  try  to  bring  it 
all  back  to  you  by  another  question.  Don't  you  remember 
her  voice?  " 

"  Most  truly  I  do  not.  Why,  what  was  the  matter  with 
her  voice?  Was  it  loud  and  harsh,  or  was  it  squeaky?  I 
cannot  imagine  anything  very  pleasant  in  the  way  of  a  voice 
in  such  a  wild  and  withered  home  as  the  moon  would 
make." 

"  True,"  answered  the  doctor,  "as  to  the  outside,  but 
you  forget  our  visit  to  the  interior." 

"  There  it  is  again,"  said  I.  "  Now,  Doctor,  the  sooner 
you  get  rid  of  these  strange  notions  the  better.  So  tell  me 
your  recollections  of  our  stay  in  the  moon,  and  I  will  let 
you  know  where  you  are  wrong. ' ' 

"  Very  well.  You  remember,  of  course,  when  we  found 
ourselves  rushing  away  from  the  earth  so  swiftly." 

"  Yes,  and  then  we  remained  shut  up  in  the  car  day  after 
day,  more  dead  than  alive  I  think,  until,  fortunately,  we 
were  spilled  out  upon  this  more  favored  globe." 

"  You  seem  to  be  sincere,"  said  the  doctor;  "  but  if  you 
are,  then  you  forget  the  most  interesting  part  of  our  experi- 
ence. Just  as  we  were  about  to  be  overwhelmed  with  our 
troubles  we  heard  exquisite  music,  which  we  soon  found 
proceeded  from  a  lovely  maiden.  You  fell  desperately  in 
love  with  her  at  first  sight  and  never  recovered  till  you 
were  plunged  in  the  ocean  of  Mars.  You  insisted  on  follow- 
ing her  nod,  and  she  led  us  at  once  through  a  narrow  path 
down  into  the  center  of  the  moon.  Here,  in  her  quiet  home, 
we  taught  her  to  sing  in  our  language — her  only  speech  was 
song — and  the  first  words  she  used  were  to  say  she  loved 
me.  She  did  not  understand  what  the  words  meant,  of 
course,  but  you  looked  as  if  you  wished  I  had  been  blown 


76  DAYBREAK. 

away  before  Mona  had  discovered  us.  After  that  I  helped 
you  in  your  wooing  all  I  could,  but  although  your  passion 
increased  every  day  your  suit  did  not  seem  to  prosper. 
One  day  I  expressed  the  wish  that  I  had  some  of  the  things 
we  had  left  in  the  car,  whereupon  she  led  us  out  to  the 
surface  again,  where  we  arrived  just  in  time  to  be  thrown 
upon  this  planet.  Here  we  are,  you  and  I,  all  safe,  but 
where  is  poor  Mona?  " 

"  I  am  sure  it  would  take  a  wise  man  to  answer  that  ques- 
tion," I  replied.  "And  now  let  me  show  you.  Doctor, 
how  wrong  you  are.  If  you  will  only  try  to  exercise  a  little 
of  that  good  judgment  for  which  you  are  noted,  you  will  be 
convinced  that  this  is  only  a  pretty  little  fairy  tale  which 
has  somehow  taken  possession  of  a  corner  of  your  brain. 
Now  that  the  fairy  is  gone  you  must  try  to  forget  the  rest. 
Just  think  how  unlikely  the  whole  story  is.  Think  of  a 
delicate  girl  living  in  such  surroundings  as  we  found  there; 
and  then,  how  could  we  exist  down  in  the  center  of  the 
moon  ? ' ' 

"  Why,  don't  you  remember  Mona  told  us  the  water  and 
atmosphere  had  all  run  down  there,  making  it  the  only 
habitable  part  of  the  decaying  globe?  " 

"  Oh,  that's  only  one  of  your  scientific  notions,  probably 
as  true  as  the  others  that  we  have  disproved.  Too  much 
science  has  turned  your  head,  and  I  will  prove  it  to  you 
again  by  showing  you  how  impossible  is  the  part  which  I 
play  in  your  romance.  I  will  tell  you  now,  what  you  doubt- 
less do  not  know,  that  I  am  engaged  to  be  married  to  the 
best  woman  in  all  the  earth,  excepting  your  own  good  wife, 
of  course." 

"  Is  that  a  fact?  "  asked  the  doctor.  "  And  do  you  love 
her?" 

"  To  be  sure  I  do.     I  love  her  very  dearly,  and  if  I  ever 


THORWALD    PUZZLED.  77 

see  her  again  I  shall  tell  her  so  in  a  manner  to  make  her 
understand  it." 

"  Why,  doesn't  she  understand  it  now?  " 

"  Yes,  I  think  so,  but  she  thought  I  didn't  show  heart 
enough  in  my  wooing." 

"  Well,  if  she  could  see  you  with  Mona  she  would  learn 
that  you  have  plenty  of  heart  when  the  right  one  appears  to 
make  it  spring  into  life." 

"  You  speak  as  if  you  thought  I  did  not  love  Margaret. 
You  do  not  know  her.  Why,  I  wouldn't  once  look  at  an- 
other woman  anywhere,  not  even  in  Mars,  and  most  certainly 
not  in  that  puckered-up  old  world  that  we  have  just  left, 
happily  for  us." 

"Do  you  know  what  I  think  about  you?"  asked  the 
doctor. 

"No." 

"  I  think  you  have  an  exceedingly  poor  memory.  First, 
you  forgot  Margaret  as  soon  as  the  voice  of  that  fair  singer 
fell  on  your  ear,  and  now  you  have  fogotten  the  singer  again 
the  moment  we  have  lost  her.  I  await  with  much  interest 
your  first  introduction  to  a  daughter  of  Mars." 

"You  will  be  disappointed,"  said  I,  "if  you  think  I 
shall  be  more  than  civil  to  her." 

"  If  she  be  handsome  and  can  turn  a  tune  moderately 
well,  I  shall  be  willing  to  wager  a  fair  young  planet  against 
the  moon  that  you  will  propose  to  her  in  a  week." 

"  I  have  done  nothing  to  give  you  so  poor  an  opinion  of 
me.  It  is  only  your  own  diseased  imagination,  and  I  do  not 
seem  to  be  curing  it  very  fast.  I  suppose,  because  your 
mind  is  naturally  so  strong,  it  is  the  more  difficult  to  destroy 
such  an  hallucination  as  has  taken  possession  of  you." 

"  I  would  give  it  up,"  said  the  doctor.  "  The  story  is 
all  true,  and  not  a  work  of  my  imagination.      Isn't  it  more 


78  DAYBREAK. 

reasonable  to  believe  that  you  could  forget  the  circum- 
stances I  have  related  than  that  I  could  invent  such  a 
tale?" 

"  Oh,  I  never  could  forget  it  if  I  had  been  false  to  Mar- 
garet. You  do  not  know  me.  If  your  vagaries  had  taken 
any  other  direction  I  might  possibly  be  brought  to  think 
you  were  right." 

By  this  time  we  both  began  to  realize  that  the  conversation 
was  not  proving  a  great  success  in  the  way  we  had  hoped,  and 
so,  after  some  pleasant  words  and  a  hearty  laugh  over  the 
situation,  we  found  our  way  to  the  deck  again.  Here  there 
were  various  things  to  attract  our  attention,  different  mem- 
bers of  the  crew  being  eager  to  show  us  about.  The  doctor 
asked  some  question  in  regard  to  the  system  of  steering 
the  vessel,  and  when  one  of  the  men  had  taken  him  back 
toward  the  stern  to  explain  the  point,  I  found  Thonvald 
and  quietly  explained  to  him  the  mental  condition  of  my 
companion. 

"  The  doctor  is  all  right,"  I  said,  "  on  every  subject  but 
one.  His  head  must  have  been  injured  a  little  in  his  fall, 
and  he  imagines  and  asserts  with  positiveness  that  we  found 
a  young  woman  in  the  moon,  the  last  of  her  race — a  ridicu- 
lous idea,  is  it  not?  " 

"  And  did  you  find  any  inhabitants  at  all?  "  asked  Thor- 
wald. 

**  Certainly  not.  No  one  could  live  in  such  a  place. 
It  is  indeed  marvelous  how  we  existed  long  enough  to  get 
here.  The  doctor  calls  this  creature  of  his  brain  Mona, 
says  she  was  a  great  beauty,  and  plainly  intimates  that  I  was 
rather  too  attentive  to  her.  You  will  see  what  a  convincing 
proof  this  is  of  his  unsound  condition  when  I  tell  you  I  am 
engaged  to  the  best  woman  on  the  earth,  and  so  of  course 
could  not  show  any  marked  preference  for  another.     I  have 


THORWALD    PUZZLED.  79 

told  you  about  the  doctor  so  that  you  may  pass  over  unno- 
ticed any  allusion  he  makes  to  these  subjects." 

Thorwald  thanked  me  and  said  he  would  be  careful  not 
to  embarrass  us  in  the  matter.  And  so  I  flattered  myself 
that  in  the  future  Thorwald  and  I  would  sympathize  with 
each  other  in  commiserating  the  doctor.  But  I  afterward 
learned  that  the  doctor,  about  this  time,  had  also  sought  an 
interview  with  Thorwald  and  had  confided  the  following 
secret  to  him  : 

"  My  friend,"  said  he,  "  is  a  fine  young  fellow,  but  his 
head  must  have  been  injured  in  his  fall.  He  has  entirely 
forgotten  the  best  of  our  experience  in  the  moon.  Queer, 
too,  for  he  fell  in  love  with  the  only  and  last  inhabitant  of 
that  globe,  a  beautiful,  sweet-voiced  maiden  named  Mona, 
who  never  talked  but  she  sang." 

Thorwald  then  made  the  doctor  tell  him  the  whole  story, 
and  at  the  close  he  promised  he  would  not  pay  much  atten- 
tion to  anything  I  might  say  on  the  subject  in  future  con- 
versation. 

So  it  was  quite  a  puzzle  to  Thorwald  to  tell  which  of  his 
visitors  from  the  earth  was  of  unsettled  mind  and  which  in 
his  normal  condition.  He  decided  to  hold  the  question 
open  and  wait  for  further  evidence. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

THORWALD    AS    A    PROPHET. 

As  may  be  supposed,  the  doctor  and  I  were  anxious  to  hear 
more  about  Mars,  and  it  was  not  long  before  we  were  all 
seated  together  again,  when  Thorwald  resumed  his  instruc- 
tive talk. 

"  What  further  can  I  tell  you  of  our  condition  and  achieve- 
ments? Every  science  has  made  mighty  progress  in  be- 
stowing its  own  benefit  upon  us.  New  arts  have  been 
discovered  in  the  course  of  our  development,  about  which 
you  would  understand  nothing.  The  aim  and  result  of  all 
science  have  been  to  add  to  our  comfort  and  happiness — our 
true  happiness,  which  consists  in  improvement  and  the  con- 
stant uplifting  of  character.  The  evils  that  once  vexed  our 
world,  both  those  occasioned  by  natural  phenomena  and 
those  brought  about  by  our  own  ignorance  and  sin,  have,  as 
you  have  heard,  almost  completely  disappeared.  Even 
mental  troubles  are  gone,  and  no  corroding  care  destroys  our 
peace,  for  there  is  nothing  for  us  to  dread ;  no  dark  future, 
filled  with  unknown  evils,  awaits  our  unwilling  feet,  and  no 
superstitious  or  unnatural  fear  disturbs  the  peaceful  quiet 
of  our  sleep." 

"  And  are  we  to  understand,  Thorwald,"  I  asked,  "  that 
you  believe  all  this  rest  from  trouble  and  wrongdoing  is 
coming  to  the  earth,  too?  " 

"  Before  replying  directly  to  your  question,"   answered 


THORWALD    AS    A    PROPHET.  8l 

Thorwald,  "  let  me  ask  you  if  there  is  any  tendency  in  that 
direction.  Look  back  to  the  earliest  days  of  your  history 
and  compare  the  state  of  things  then  existing  with  that  of 
your  own  times.  Has  your  world  made  any  progress?  Is 
there  any  less  violence?  Are  men  learning  to  live  without 
fighting?  Are  the  dark  corners  of  the  earth  coming  to 
the  light?" 

"  In  these  and  many  other  directions,"  I  answered,  "  I 
think  we  can  see  improvement." 

"  Then,"  continued  Thorwald,  "  it  seems  to  me  you  must 
believe  with  me  that  your  world  will  one  day  come  to  the 
condition  in  which  you  find  us.  Have  not  vour  holy  proph- 
ets foretold  a  time  of  universal  peace  both  tor  man  and 
beast,  a  time  when  a  higher  law  than  selfishness  shall  gov- 
ern all  hearts  and  the  earth  be  filled  with  the  spirit  of 
love?  " 

"They  have,"  I  replied,  "but  most  of  us  are  so  en- 
grossed in  the  struggle  for  existence  that  we  think  lightly 
or  not  at  all  of  such  things.  These  prophecies  have  never 
impressed  me  as  they  do  now  when  I  see  your  condition,  and 
reflect  that  similar  words  may  have  been  spoken  and  then 
fulfilled  here." 

*'  Let  me  assure  you,"  Thorwald  made  haste  to  say,  "  that 
the  earth  is  still  young.  I  can  see  by  all  you  say  that  your 
age  is  one  of  unusual  vitality  and  progress.  A  firm  faith 
that  victory  will  come  and  that  the  golden  age  is  before  you 
will  be  a  great  help  in  your  struggle  with  evil.  Lay  hold 
of  that  faith.  It  is  yours.  It  needs  no  prophet  to  tell  you 
that  your  race  will  one  day  reach  our  blessed  state.  First 
will  come  the  spirit  of  peace,  and  as  I  am  sure  war  must  be 
repugnant  to  such  minds  as  yours,  you  will  readily  learn  to 
put  it  away  from  you.  Then  will  begin  to  cease  all  bitter- 
ness between  man  and  man,  and  you  will  be  started  on  the 
6 


82  DAYIiREAK. 

road  that  leads  to  brotherly  kindness.  A  world  of  sorrows 
will  fall  away  with  the  passing  of  individual  and  national 
strife,  not  only  the  horror  of  the  battlefield  and  the  misery 
that  follows  it,  but  also  the  more  secret  and  world-wide 
unhappiness  that  comes  from  the  petty  conflicts  over  the 
so-called  rights  of  person  and  property.  Selfishness,  that 
monstrous  source  of  evil,  must  be  dethroned,  and  then  the 
rights  of  each  will  be  cared  for  by  all.  This  will  usher  in 
for  you  a  new  era. 

"  And  now,  when  the  mighty  energy  that  has  been  ex- 
pended in  learning  and  practicing  the  science  of  war,  the 
skill  that  has  been  given  to  the  art  of  killing,  the  treasures 
of  money  and  blood,  the  time,  the  brain  and  the  activities 
that  have  been  employed  in  carrying  out  plans  of  aggres- 
sion, large  and  small,  of  neighbor  against  neighbor — when 
these  have  all  been  turned  toward  the  betterment  of  your 
condition  and  the  salvation  of  men  from  degradation  and 
sin,  then  will  the  arts  of  peace  flourish  and  your  day  begin. 
Then  will  nature  herself  come  to  your  assistance,  molding 
her  laws  to  your  convenience  and  comfort.  It  will  doubt- 
less be  a  long  time  before  a  man  can  love  and  consider  his 
neighbor  as  himself,  and  before  all  of  God's  creatures  on  your 
planet  can  dwell  together  in  perfect  peace,  but,  believe  me, 
the  earth  will  live  to  see  that  time." 

"Thorwald,"  spoke  the  doctor,  "your  words  are  so 
inspiring  that  I  almost  wish  my  life  could  have  waited  some 
thousands  of  years  for  that  bright  day  you  so  confidently 
promise  for  the  earth,  but  I  cannot  help  asking  myself  if  it 
is  altogether  a  misfortune  to  live  in  the  midst  of  the  con- 
flict, with  something  ahead  to  strive  for.  Will  you  pardon 
my  presumption  if  I  ask  you  practically  the  same  question? 
You  have  told  us  of  your  wonderful  history  and  that  you 
have  now  reached  a  condition  of  peace  and  quiet.     With  no 


THORWALD    AS    A    PROPHET.  83 

sickness  or  sorrow  in  your  lives,  with  no  evil  passions  to 
rise  and  throw  you,  with  nothing  to  fear  from  without  or 
within,  yours  must  be  a  blissful  condition.  But  still,  is 
there  always  content?  In  our  imperfect  state  we  are  striv- 
ing and  learning.  Our  happiness  largely  consists  in  the 
pursuit  of  happiness.  If,  some  day,  we  should  find  all  dififi- 
culties  removed,  no  obstacles  left  to  contend  against,  no  evil 
in  ourselves  or  others  to  overcome,  not  even  our  bodily 
wants  to  provide  for,  it  seems  to  me  life  would  lose  its  zest 
and  become  a  burden  hardly  worth  the  carrying.  Can  you 
remove  this  unhandsome  doubt?" 

"  I  will  try,"  answered  Thorwald.  "  I  suppose  if  the 
people  of  the  earth,  with  their  present  capacities  and  aspi- 
rations, should  be  brought  suddenly  to  such  a  state  of  civi- 
lization as  ours,  it  would  be  as  you  say.  As  your  develop- 
ment continues,  your  minds  and  souls  will  expand  and  you 
will  be  prepared  to  take  up  new  duties  and  occupations  as 
they  come.  I  cannot  tell  you  Avhat  these  are,  for  at  pres- 
ent you  would  not  understand  me.  You  mistake  if  you 
think  we  have  ceased  to  learn.  The  mind  is  ever  reaching 
fonvard  to  new  attainments,  and  the  things  which  chiefly 
occupy  us  now  would  have  been  beyond  our  comprehension 
in  our  earlier  days.  Can  you  not  find  an  illustration  on  the 
earth?  Suppose  the  untutored  savage  were  suddenly  required 
to  throw  away  his  spear  and  arrow  and  engage  in  your  pur- 
suits. Doctor.  Would  he  be  happy?  Your  mind  is  full  of 
thoughts  that  he  cannot  grasp,  your  life  is  made  up  of 
experiences  and  aspirations  of  which  he  has  no  conception. 
You  can  see  your  superiority  to  the  savage.  Let  me  help 
you  to  look  forward  and  see  your  inferiority  to  the  coming 
man,  who,  I  assure  you,  will  never  tire  of  life  while  any- 
thing that  God  has  made  remains  to  be  studied.  As  the 
mind  expands,  new  wonders  and  new  beauties  in  creation 


84  DAYBREAK. 

will  unfold  themselves  and  your  race  will  learn  to  look  back 
with  pity  upon  your  present  age,  with  its  mean  and  trivial 
occupations." 

"  But,  Thonvald,"  I  asked,  "  can  you  not  tell  us  some- 
thing of  these  higher  pursuits?  " 

"  But  very  little,"  he  answered.  "  1  might  give  you  one 
or  two  hints  of  some  things  which  I  think  lie  nearest  you,  if 
indeed  you  have  not  already  begun  to  consider  them.  1  need 
hardly  speak  of  astronomy,  which,  from  the  nature  of  the 
case,  is  the  earliest  of  all  sciences  wherever  there  is  intelli- 
gent life  to  view  the  works  of  creation.  You  will  find  great 
profit  in  advancing  in  this  study  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
We  have  not  yet  ceased  to  pursue  it,  and  I  think  it  is  one 
branch  of  knowledge  which  will  never  be  exhausted,  in  the 
present  life  at  least.  Our  achievements  in  astronomy  have 
been  marvelous. 

"  Do  not  neglect  to  look  in  the  other  direction  also  for 
evidences  of  God's  power  and  wisdom.  The  microscope 
will  almost  keep  pace  with  the  telescope  in  revealing  the  won- 
ders of  creation.  It  will  greatly  assist  you  in  many  of  your 
higher  employments. 

"  One  thing  that  you  will  doubtless  soon  undertake  is  the 
study  of  the  speech  of  animals,  which  will  go  hand  in  hand 
with  the  development  of  their  intelligence.  Both  of  these 
will  claim  much  attention,  but  very  inadequate  results  will 
be  obtained  until  after  you  have  tamed  and  domesticated 
the  various  species.  You  will  want  to  discover  how  far  ani- 
mals can  be  educated  and  whether  their  intelligence  can 
ever  be  developed  into  mind.  As  you  progress  in  this  study 
you  will  feel  the  necessity  of  understanding  their  conversa- 
tion and  you  will  learn  what  you  can  of  their  language. 
These  tasks  will  seem  of  more  importance  to  you  when  the 
lower  animals  are  all  reclaimed  and  become  the  companions 


THORWALD    AS    A    PROPHET.  85 

and  friends  of  man.  You  will  try  to  discover  the  particular 
purpose  for  which  each  species  was  created,  and  you  will  even 
be  led  to  inquire,  by  a  long  series  of  experiments,  whether 
they  possess  the  faintest  shadow  of  moral  perceptions. 

"  Then  there  is  the  great  subject  of  plant  life.  Does  the 
sensitiveness  of  plants  ever  amount  to  sensibility  or  feel- 
ing? If  so,  is  it  a  feeling  you  are  bound  to  respect?  That 
is,  should  a  wounded  and  bleeding  tree  excite  in  you  even  the 
slightest  shade  of  that  sympathy  you  feel  with  a  distressed 
animal?  These  are  inquiries  which  you  doubtless  think  of 
little  moment  now,  but  we  have  spent  many  years  pursuing 
them. 

"  These  are  only  a  few  faint  indications  of  the  multitude 
of  questions  which  lie  before  you  for  studv.  In  every 
investigation  which  you  follow,  whether  connected  with  the 
mysteries  of  your  own  complex  being  or  with  the  unexplored 
depths  of  creation  around  you,  a  chief  source  of  interest 
will  be  the  constant  discovery  of  a  perfect  adaptation  in  the 
works  of  God.  Of  course  you  know  something  of  it  already, 
but  you  will  never  cease  to  wonder  at  the  unfolding  of  this 
truth,  as  you  come  to  realize  more  and  more  fully  that  crea- 
tion is  one,  and  is  moved  and  ruled  by  one  intelligence. 

"  Oh,  do  not  imagine  that  in  the  ages  to  come  there  will 
be  nothing  to  make  life  interesting.  As  your  civilization 
advances  and  you  are  released  gradually  from  trouble  and 
care,  and  from  those  petty  affairs  which  now  so  occupy  you, 
your  minds  and  souls  will  grow,  and  you  will  see  far  more 
ahead  of  you  worth  striving  for  than  you  now  do.  Your 
happiness  can  still  consist  largely  in  the  pursuit  of  happi- 
ness." 


CHAPTER    X. 

MORE    WORLDS    THAN    TWO. 

It  was  now  so  late  in  the  day  that  further  conversation 
was  postponed,  and  after  a  plain  but  exceedingly  enjoyable 
supper  we  were  shown  to  luxurious  rooms,  where  we  spent 
our  first  night  in  Mars  in  great  comfort. 

In  the  morning  Thorwald  told  us  we  would  reach  our  port 
in  a  few  hours,  and  so  we  sat  down  as  early  as  we  could  after 
breakfast  for  a  short  talk. 

The  doctor  furnished  the  text  by  opening  the  conversation 
with  this  remark  : 

"  It  is  wonderful  to  think  we  should  find  on  this  planet  a 
race  of  people  so  advanced,  when  so  little  thought  is  given, 
on  the  earth,  to  the  idea  of  life  in  other  worlds." 

"  What  has  been  the  general  opinion  among  you  on  that 
subject?"  asked  Thorwald. 

"  The  subject  has  not  had  standing  enough  to  call  forth 
much  opinion,"  the  doctor  answered.  "  There  is  an  almost 
universal  indifference  in  regard  to  the  matter.  I  think  the 
common  notion  is  that  the  earth  is  about  all  there  is  in  the 
universe  worth  considering." 

"  But  what  are  your  own  views,  Doctor?  " 

"  I  have  been  one  of  those,"  he  replied,  "  who  believed 
the  notion  of  life  outside  the  earth  to  be  a  beautiful  theory 
without  one  shred  of  scientific  basis.  We  knew  the  earth 
was  inhabited  and  the  moon  was  not,  and  there  we  stopped. 


MORE    WORLDS    THAN    TWO.  87 

We  did  not  know,  and  thought  we  never  could  know,  anything 
that  could  be  called  evidence  pointing  to  the  existence  of 
life  in  the  other  planets  or  elsewhere,  and  we  held  that 
there  was  no  advantage  in  speculation.  We  thought  it  un- 
wise to  spend  much  time  or  thought  on  a  subject  about  which 
we  could  know  nothing.  On  coming  here  and  finding  you  I 
have  learned  that  Mars  is  inhabited,  but  I  do  not  know  any 
more  about  the  other  planets  or  stars." 

"  Does  not  the  mere  knowledge  that  there  are  two  life- 
bearing  bodies  lead  you  to  believe  that  there  are  more, 
among  the  vast  numbers  of  worlds  which  you  have  not 
visited?  " 

"  I  don't  see  why  it  should.  How  can  we  believe  any- 
thing without  evidence?  No  one  has  ever  come  to  us  from 
those  distant  globes,  and  they  are  too  far  away  for  us  to  see 
what  is  taking  place  on  their  surface." 

"  It  seems  strange.  Doctor,  to  hear  you  reason  in  that 
way,  but  I  suppose  some  of  our  race  were  just  as  narrow,  if 
you  will  pardon  me  for  using  that  word,  as  you  are,  before 
our  wonderful  successes  in  astronomy.  I  believe  you  have 
not  properly  considered  the  subject,  for  it  seems  to  me  you 
had  knowledge  enough,  before  you  left  the  earth,  to  justify 
you  in  holding  to  a  strong  probability  of  life  beyond  your  own 
globe. 

"  Let  us  see  what  some  of  that  knowledge  is.  You  know, 
to  begin  with,  that  one  world  is  inhabited.  Then  if  you 
should  find  other  bodies  as  large  as  the  earth  and  bearing 
any  resemblance  to  it,  there  would  be  no  improbability  in 
the  thought  that  they  or  some  of  them  were  filled  with  life. 
The  improbability  is  certainly  taken  away  by  the  knowledge 
that  one  such  body,  the  earth,  is  inhabited. 

"  You  start,  then,  without  prejudice,  on  a  voyage  of  dis- 
covery, aided  by  your  telescope  and  your  reasoning  facul- 


88  DAYBREAK. 

ties.  First  you  find,  within  distances  that  you  can  easily 
measure,  a  small  group  of  dark  bodies,  which  you  have 
called  planets,  all  apparently  governed  by  a  common  law, 
in  obedience  to  which  they  are  circling  around  a  large  body 
of  quite  different  character,  which  gives  them  light  and 
heat.  Of  these  dark  bodies,  which  shine  in  the  sky  only 
by  reflected  light,  the  earth  is  one,  and,  you  are  surprised 
to  find,  not  the  most  important  one,  judging  from  all  you 
can  discover.  Some  of  the  others  are  much  larger  and  are 
attended  by  more  satellites.  In  fact,  the  earth  is  indistin- 
guishable in  this  little  group.  While  it  is  not  the  largest, 
neither  is  it  the  smallest.  It  is  not  the  farthest  from  the 
sun  nor  the  nearest  to  it.  It  is  merely  one  among  the 
number.  And  how  much  alike  the  members  of  this  family 
are.  Your  telescopes  do  not  point  out  any  material  dif- 
ferences, although  each  has  its  individual  characteristics. 
Let  us  enumerate  some  of  the  many  points  of  resemblance. 
They  all  turn  on  themselves  as  well  as  revolve  around  the 
sun.  All  see  the  night  follow  the  day,  and  in  most  of  them 
there  must  occur  the  regular  succession  of  seasons.  To 
each  one  the  sun  is  the  source  of  light  and  heat,  many  of 
them  have  moons,  and  all  can  see  the  stars.  Nor  does  the 
resemblance  stop  here.  For  you  have  discovered  that  one 
has  an  atmosphere,  another  is  surrounded  with  clouds,  while 
on  the  surface  of  our  own  globe  you  see  the  polar  snows 
increase  in  winter  and  melt  away  in  summer.  Is  it  not 
probable  that  if  you  could  get  nearer  to  these  globes  you 
would  find  still  closer  resemblances  ?  And  if  they  are  like 
the  earth  in  so  many  ways,  is  it  at  all  unlikely  that  they  may, 
at  some  period  of  their  existence,  be  the  abode  of  intelligent 
life  ?  For  what  other  purpose  were  they  made,  Doctor  ?  " 
"They  make  very  pretty  objects  for  us  to  look  at," 
replied  my  companion. 


MORE    WORLDS    THAN    T\VO.  89 

"  Yes,  those  that  can  be  seen,"  said  Thonvald  ;  "  but  is 
that  all  ?  \\'ere  those  great  worlds,  some  of  them  hundreds 
of  times  larger  than  your  own  globe,  created  merely  to  add 
a  little  variety  to  your  sky,  and  to  give  you  the  pleasant  task 
of  watching  their  movements  under  the  pretty  title  of  morn- 
ing and  evening  star  ?  " 

"  Speaking  from  the  knowledge  I  had  when  I  left  the 
earth,"  the  doctor  answered,  "  I  can  say  I  never  heard  that 
they  were  put  to  any  other  use.  No  one  ever  came  down 
to  us  from  any  of  them  to  tell  us  they  were  inhabited." 

"  And  do  you  think,"  asked  Thonvald,  "  that  the  myriads 
of  stars  were  also  made  simply  to  delight  the  eye  of  man?  " 

"  How  do  I  know  that  they  were  not?  "  the  doctor  asked 
in  reply. 

"  Because  of  the  absolute  unreasonableness  of  the  thought, 
if  for  no  other  reason,"  answered  Thorwald.  "But  now 
let  me  recall  to  your  mind  more  of  the  knowledge  possessed 
by  the  inhabitants  of  the  earth.  I  think  I  know  about 
what  that  knowledge  is,  from  my  acquaintance  with  the 
present  state  of  your  development.  Astronomv  has  been 
our  master  science,  and  I  can  remember  fairly  well  the 
extent  of  our  knowledge  when  we  had  reached  your  stage. 
If  I  should  fall  into  the  error  of  attributing  to  you  more 
than  you  have  already  discovered  you  can  easily  correct  me. 

"  If,  now,  you  leave  the  little  group  of  dark  bodies  which 
are  so  like  the  earth,  and  go  out  still  further  into  space, 
what  do  you  find?  At  distances  so  great  that  onlv  the 
speed  of  light  can  be  used  as  a  measuring  line,  you  discover 
vast  numbers  of  self-luminous  bodies,  which  you  call  stars. 
Your  natural  eye  can  tell  but  a  small  fraction  of  their  num- 
ber. For  example,  look  at  the  constellation  you  have 
named  the  Pleiades  and  you  see  six  or  seven  stars.  Yiew  it 
through  a  three-inch  telescope  and  you  can  count  perhaps 


9©  DAYBREAK. 

three  hundred.  Now  attach  a  photographic  plate  to  the 
telescope,  and  with  an  exposure  of  four  hours  the  light 
coming  from  that  small  patch  of  sky  falls  upon  the  sensi- 
tive film  with  a  cumulative  effect  until  you  have  a  picture 
of  more  than  two  thousand  three  hundred  stars." 

"  Yes,"  broke  in  the  doctor,  "  you  are  gauging  correctly 
the  state  of  our  knowledge.  Our  largest  telescopes  reveal 
in  the  entire  sky,  it  is  said,  one  himdred  million  stars." 

"Then,"  answered  Thorwald,  "if  the  glories  of  the 
heavens  were  made  merely  to  delight  the  eye  of  man,  why 
was  not  the  eye  created  of  sufficient  power  to  behold  them? 
As  it  is,  only  a  small  proportion  of  the  stars  can  be  seen 
without  the  aid  of  instruments  too  costly  and  too  delicate 
for  general  use. 

"  But  have  you  the  means  of  establishing  any  likeness 
between  the  earth  and  those  distant  bodies?  You  have  dis- 
covered that  the  law  of  gravitation  is  universal  and  that  the 
motions  of  the  stars  resemble  those  of  the  solar  system. 
Have  you  made  any  discoveries  tending  to  prove  the  exist- 
ence of  other  systems  like  our  own?  " 

"  Yes,"  replied  the  doctor,  "  our  recent  investigations  of 
the  periods  of  some  of  the  variable  stars  show  irregularities 
in  brightness,  period,  and  proper  motion.  A  close  study  of 
these  irregularities  has  convinced  some  of  our  astronomers 
that  there  are  invisible  bodies  near  them,  evidently  planets 
circling  around  a  central  sun.  The  theory  is  that  the  dark 
bodies  cause  slight  perturbations  in  the  star,  which  account 
for  the  irregularities  in  period,  motion,  etc.  So  Neptune 
was  discovered  by  the  effect  it  had  upon  the  observed 
movements  of  Uranus.  This  is  the  first  evidence  we  have 
had  tending  to  prove  that  there  are  other  groups  of  worlds 
like  ours,  and  it  is  considered  quite  significant." 

"  I  can  readily  believe  it,"  said  Thorwald,  "  and  I  know 


MORE    WORLDS    THAN    TWO.  9I 

how  helpful  every  bit  of  evidence  is,  in  your  search  for 
knowledge.  But  if  I  mistake  not  you  have  the  aid  of 
another  instrument,  which  is  destined  to  play  an  important 
part  in  your  future  studies.  You  get  much  nearer  those 
distant  orbs  when  a  spectroscope  is  placed  at  the  end  of  the 
telescope,  and  the  ray  of  light  coming  from  sun  and  star  is 
widened  out  into  a  band  of  color,  which  tells  a  marvelous 
story.  That  light,  that  has  been  for  years,  and  perhaps  for 
centuries,  on  its  way  to  you,  now  discloses  the  very  nature 
of  the  substances  which  compose  those  fiery  globes.  And 
what  are  those  substances?  It  must  have  been  a  startling 
truth  to  the  man  who  first  read  from  the  spectrum  of  the 
star  he  was  studying,  that  it  contained  matter  with  which  he 
was  familiar,  materials  of  which  the  earth  itself  is  made. 
By  this  science  you  have  learned  beyond  doubt  that  many 
of  the  commonest  elements  of  the  earth's  crust  exist  also 
in  other  worlds,  and,  what  is  of  great  significance,  that  the 
materials  most  closely  connected  with  living  organisms  on 
the  earth,  such  as  hydrogen,  sodium,  magnesium,  and  iron, 
are  the  very  ones  which  are  found  most  widely  diffused 
among  the  stars.  I  think  I  am  not  wrong  in  assuming  that 
you  are  somewhat  acquainted  with  the  spectroscope  and 
have  made  these  discoveries." 

*'  You  are  quite  right,"  said  the  doctor.  "  This  branch  of 
scientific  investigation  has  already  been  carried  so  far  with 
us,  and  the  results  of  the  experiments  are  so  constant  and 
uniform,  that  when  it  is  asserted,  for  example,  that  such 
and  such  a  metal  is  present  in  a  state  of  vapor  in  the  sun's 
atmosphere,  it  is  estimated  that  the  chances  in  favor  of  the 
correctness  of  the  assertion  are  as  300,000,000  to  i." 

''  You  are  helping  my  argument.  Doctor,"  resumed  Thor- 
wald.  "  But  now  let  me  call  your  attention  to  another 
field  of  inquiry,  in  our  search  for  evidence  to  establish  a 


92  DAYBREAK. 

likeness  between  the  earth  and  the  other  parts  of  the  uni- 
verse. You  told  me,  a  while  ago,  that  you  have  the  fall  of 
meteorites  on  your  globe.  Have  you  considered  the  strik- 
ing evidence  they  bring  you  ?  Let  us  imagine  we  have  a 
meteoric  fragment  here.  Take  it  in  your  hand  and  think 
of  it  a  moment.  You  have  few  things  on  your  earth  as 
interesting  as  this  piece  of  metallic  stone.  What  a  world 
of  questions  it  starts  !  What  is  its  composition  ?  Whence 
comes  it  ?  Once  it  was  in  existence,  but  not  here. 
Where,  then,  was  its  home  ?  Out,  out  in  the  depths  of 
space,  where  burning  suns  roll  and  comets  have  their  dwell- 
ing place.  The  stars  have  fallen  indeed,  and  here  is  one 
of  the  pieces.  Before  it  came  to  us  as  a  messenger  from 
the  sky  did  it  have  an  independent  existence,  or  is  it  a 
fragment  of  a  shattered  world  ?  How  long  has  it  been 
whirling  in  its  unknown  orbit,  and  what  story  has  it  for  us 
from  its  distant  birthplace  ?  If  we  can  discover  whence 
meteorites  come,  and  of  what  they  are  composed,  I  think 
you  will  agree  with  me  that  they  furnish  valuable  testimony 
in  our  inquiry.  You  have  no  doubt  had  many  theories  as 
to  their  origin." 

I  was  just  about  to  make  answer  to  this  implied  question, 
when  Thorwald  rose  and  eagerly  scanned  the  horizon.  After 
a  moment  he  exclaimed  : 

"  We  shall  have  to  break  off  our  conversation  for  a  time, 
as  we  are  nearing  our  port.  I  knew  by  other  means  that 
land  must  soon  appear,  and  now  I  can  see  it." 


CHAPTER    XL 


MARS    AS    IT    IS. 


The  doctor  and  I  looked  in  the  direction  indicated  and 
speedily  realized  that,  the  superiority  of  the  dwellers  on 
Mars  extended  to  the  sense  of  sight,  for  we  could  see 
nothing.  But  we  were  sailing  so  swiftly  that  the  shore  we 
were  approaching  was  before  very  long  brought  within  our 
vision  also,  and  among  the  alert  crew,  who  were  now  pre- 
paring to  bring  the  vessel  into  its  harbor,  there  could  be 
none  so  interested  in  what  was  to  come  as  the  doctor  and 
myself.  We  were  to  see  what  had  been  accomplished  by  a 
race  of  whose  perfections  we  had  been  hearing  so  much. 

As  we  effected  a  landing  and  walked  up  the  streets  of  the 
city,  we  were  not  nearly  so  much  impressed  with  the  size 
and  beauty  of  the  buildings  and  the  appearance  of  the  peo- 
ple as  we  were  by  the  spirit  of  absolute  peace  and  quiet 
which  prevailed.  With  perfect  skill,  and  without  noise  or 
bustle,  the  ship  was  brought  to  its  dock  and  the  crew  went 
ashore.  The  screams  and  calls,  the  rattle  of  vehicles  and 
the  babel  of  sounds  we  had  been  accustomed  to  on  such 
occasions,  were  all  missing.  The  silence  and  order  were 
almost  oppressive  because  they  were  so  strange.  But  there 
was  no  lack  of  activity  among  the  immense  creatures  who 
thronged  around  us.  Everyone  was  busy,  knowing  appar- 
ently just  what  to  do  without  direction  from  others,  and 
just   the  best  way  to   do  it.     Beings  with  lungs  powerful 


94 


DAYBREAK. 


enough  to  wake  the  mountain  echoes  went  about  with  mild 
and  tuneful  voices,  and,  though  each  one  seemed  possessed 
of  a  giant's  strength,  no  severe  labor  was  required  of  any. 

The  streets  and  walks  were  paved  with  a  soft  material, 
yielding  slightly  to  pressure,  but  so  firm  and  tough  that 
it  showed  no  sign  of  wear,  an  ideal  pavement,  over  which 
the  wheels  rolled  as  noiselessly  as  they  would  over  a  vehet 
carpet.  It  was,  moreover,  laid  in  beautiful  patterns  of 
the  most  varied  colors.  The  vehicles,  of  which  there  were 
many  kinds  for  different  uses,  were  so  faultlessly  made  that 
they  moved  with  the  utmost  quiet  and  apparent  ease,  the 
power  that  propelled  them  being  invisible.  There  were  no 
tracks  or  wires,  but  all  were  guided  in  any  direction  and 
with  any  speed  at  the  pleasure  of  the  riders. 

Thorwald  led  me  from  the  vessel,  and  another  stalwart 
son  of  Mars  took  charge  of  the  doctor.  After  walking  a 
few  steps  up  the  street  we  all  stepped  into  an  empty  car- 
riage without  saying  as  much  as  "  by  your  leave,"  Thorwald 
touched  a  button,  and  we  were  off. 

"  This,"  said  Thorwald,  "  is  one  of  the  best  illustrations 
of  the  manner  in  which  we  are  applying  electricity.  You 
saw  them  also  unloading  the  heavy  freight  from  the  boat  by 
the  same  power.  So  all  our  work  is  done.  No  fleshly  limb 
is  strained,  no  conscious  life  is  burdened,  by  any  of  the 
labor  of  our  complex  society.  This  subtle  force  is  so  well 
controlled  and  its  laws  are  so  thoroughly  understood  that 
it  is  equal  to  every  demand." 

"I  am  entranced,  Thorwald,"  said  the  doctor,  "with 
everything  I  see.  But  I  would  like  to  ask  if  you  own 
this  comfortable  carriage  and  had  it  sent  to  the  wharf  to 
meet  you." 

"  I  own  it,"  our  friend  replied,  "  just  as  I  own  the  street 
we  are  riding  over  or  the  house  I  live  in.     I  own  this  or 


MARS    AS    IT    IS.  95 

any  other  vehicle  whenever  I  desire  to  use  it.  You  saw  a 
great  number  of  carriages  near  the  wharf,  and  there  are 
several  over  on  that  corner.  Anyone  is  at  perfect  liberty 
to  appropriate  one  to  his  own  use  at  any  time,  and  when  he 
is  through  he  merely  leaves  it  at  a  convenient  place  by  the 
roadside  for  some  one  else  to  take." 

"  I  should  think  they  would  be  stolen,"  said  I. 

Thorwald  laughed  at  my  ignorance  and  answered  :  "  Why, 
who  is  there  to  steal  when  everybody,  either  friend  or 
stranger,  can  use  them  as  often  and  as  long  as  he  likes  ?  " 

The  talk  promised  to  grow  more  interesting  still,  but 
now  our  attention  was  turned  to  the  delightful  scene  through 
which  we  were  passing.  It  will  be  utterly  impossible  to 
describe  the  beauty  of  the  landscape,  where  nature  and  art 
seemed  to  be  striving  to  outdo  each  other.  Before  reaching 
land  I  had  imagined  that  the  houses,  if  they  were  to  be 
proportioned  to  the  inhabitants,  must  pierce  the  sky.  But 
we  were  surprised  to  find  that  they  were  all  comparatively 
low,  of  not  more  than  two  or  three  stories.  And  all,  even 
those  near  the  wharf,  were  surrounded  with  ample  grounds. 
Some  of  the  houses  were  larger  than  others,  some  more 
ornate  than  their  neighbors,  and  the  architecture  varied  as 
much  as  the  size  and  arrangement  of  the  grounds.  But  all 
were  beautiful  beyond  description.  One  thing  that  ap- 
peared very  strange  to  us  was  that  the  prevailing  color  of 
the  vegetation  was  red,  although  that  shade  did  not  pre- 
dominate as  much  as  green  does  on  the  earth.  For 
instance,  after  we  had  admired  a  stretch  of  lawn  brilliant 
as  a  crimson  sky,  we  would  come  to  another  which  would 
surprise  and  please  us  with  a  lovely  shade  of  blue.  Still 
another  was  green,  and  then  one  glowed  with  a  variety  of 
colors,  whose  combination  showed  a  most  refined  taste.  As 
with  the  grass,  so  it  was  with  the  foliage  of  the  trees.     The 


g6  DAYBREAK. 

richest  tints  of  our  autumnal  forests  were  here  present  in 
permanence,  but  with  a  much  greater  wealth  of  coloring. 
Flowers,  too,  of  every  hue  and  form  were  to  be  seen  on  all 
sides,  and  their  appearance  was  so  perfectly  natural  that  if 
they  had  been  set  with  design  then  the  art  itself  had  con- 
cealed the  art  of  their  arrangement. 

With  all  this  mass  of  color  there  were  no  unpleasant 
contrasts,  no  discordant  tones.  As,  amid  the  bustle  of 
the  landing  place,  our  ears  had  not  been  shocked  with  rude 
noises,  so  now  we  received  through  our  eyes  only  a  delight- 
ful sense  of  quiet  beauty. 

Riding,  now  slowly  and  now  more  rapidly,  through  such 
a  scene,  we  could  think  of  nothing  better  to  question  our 
friend  about,  so  the  doctor  found  his  voice  and  said  : 

"  This  far  surpasses  our  anticipations,  Thorwald,  and  I 
am  sure  this  place  must  be  exceptional,  even  on  Mars.  I 
suppose  it  is  a  resort  where  some  of  your  wealthy  people 
have  built  themselves  homes  in  which  to  enjoy  their  leisure 
months." 

"Nothing  of  the  kind,"  replied  Thorwald.  "These 
people  live  here  all  the  year,  they  are  not  wealthy,  and 
there  is  nothing  to  distinguish  this  city  above  others." 

"  Why,  this  seems  more  like  a  private  park  than  a  city. 
Where  are  your  crowded  streets  and  houses  for  the  poor  ?  " 

"  After  all  I  have  told  you  of  our  high  civilization.  Doc- 
tor, do  you  not  imderstand  that  we  have  long  since  abol- 
ished poverty  ?  " 

"Yes,"  answered  the  doctor,  "I  understand  that  in  a 
general  way;  but  I  did  not  suppose  everybody  was  rich, 
as  it  is  certain  everybody  must  be  to  own  such  palaces  as 
these." 

''You  are  still  wrong,"  said  Thorwald.  "We  have  no 
such  distinctions  as  rich  and  poor.     All  our  cities  are  of 


MARS    AS    IT    IS.  97 

this  character,  only  there  is  great  variety  in  the  residences 
and  in  the  way  in  which  the  streets  and  lots  are  laid  out. 
These  places  that  we  are  passing  are  inferior  to  many,  but 
no  houses  are  built  that  are  at  all  mean  or  uncomfortable. 
Indeed,  I  think  we  have  to-day  passed  some  of  the  poorest 
that  I  know  of.  As  to  the  word  city,  we  use  it  only  as  a 
convenient  expression.  It  really  means  nothing  more  than 
a  certain  locality,  for,  as  I  told  you  at  the  beginning  of  our 
conversation,  we  have  no  need  of  government  of  any  kind. 
In  some  sections  one  city  runs  into  another,  so  that  the 
whole  country  is  filled  with  the  beauty  and  delight  of  the 
landscape  which  you  see  about  you." 

"  But,"  asked  the  doctor,  "  with  the  population  spread 
out  in  this  marvelous  way,  is  there  room  for  everybody  ?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,"  answered  Thorwald.  "All  the  surface  of 
our  planet  is  brought  into  use;  the  waste  places  are  re- 
claimed, and  there  is  abundant  room  for  all.  And  now,  as 
this  pleasant  air  and  easy  motion  seem  to  be  agreeable  to 
you,  we  may  as  well  ride  slowly  for  a  while  longer. 

"  In  your  intercourse  with  us  you  will  find  it  is  never 
necessary  for  us  to  hurry  when,  for  any  good  reason,  we 
choose  to  loiter,  and,  therefore,  if  you  care  to  hear  me 
talk,  I  will  take  the  time  to  correct  another  wrong  impres- 
sion you  seem  to  have. 

"You  spoke.  Doctor,  about  the  people  owning  these 
houses.     No  one  owns  them." 

' '  Do  they  belong  to  the  state  ? ' '  asked  the  doctor. 

"  There  is  no  state." 

"Well,  this  is  a  curious  condition  of  affairs,"  resumed 
the  doctor.  "  Here  is  valuable  property  belonging  to  no 
one  and  no  government  to  claim  it.  I  should  think  any- 
one that  happened  along  could  take  possession." 

"Now  you  are  right,"  said  Thorwald.  "That  is  just 
7 


98  DAYBREAK, 

the  state  of  the  case.  It  is  with  houses  and  all  other  prop- 
erty as  I  told  you  it  was  with  this  carriage.  All  the  right 
one  has  to  any  object  is  the  right  to  use  it.  Everything 
that  has  been  produced  by  art  and  skill  is  just  as  free  as  the 
bounties  of  nature,  such  as  air  and  water  and  land,  which 
of  course  no  one  would  ever  dream  of  subjecting  to  private 
ownership." 

The  doctor  winced  as  he  heard  Thorwald  include  land 
among  these  free  bounties  of  nature,  and  the  expression  of 
his  face  did  not  escape  the  quick  eye  of  the  Martian,  who 
exclaimed  : 

"  So  you  earth-dwellers  are  still  in  the  habit  of  buying 
and  selling  land,  are  you  ?  " 

"  That  was  the  practice  when  we  left  home,"  replied  the 
doctor.  ''  And  I  cannot  understand  how  we  can  do  differ- 
ently. Your  views  of  property  are  so  strange  to  us  that  I 
am  sure  my  companion  will  join  me  in  asking  you  to  ex- 
plain them  more  fully." 

"  I  certainly  do,"  I  said. 

"  Property,"  began  Thorwald,  "  we  do  not  have,  but  we 
have  many  of  the  rights  of  proprietorship  in  the  things  we 
use  from  time  to  time.  And  what  other  benefit  than  the 
free  use  of  what  we  need  could  be  derived  from  the  posses- 
sion of  things  ?  Suppose  I,  for  example,  owned  a  thousand 
acres  of  land  and  a  hundred  fine  mansions.  I  could  culti- 
vate but  a  small  part  of  the  land  and  occupy  but  one 
house  at  a  time,  and  of  what  value  would  the  remainder 
be  ?" 

"  Would  not  such  palaces  as  these  on  this  beautiful  street 
bring  a'  good  rent  ?  "  I  inquired. 

"  Don't  be  stupid,"  replied  Thorwald  good-naturedly. 
"  You  must  know  by  this  time  that  we  are  not  a  race  of 
self-seekers,  each  one  taking  advantage  of  the  necessity  of 


MARS    AS    IT    IS.  99 

his  neighbor.  But  I  suppose  it  is  difficult  for  you  to  appre- 
ciate a  state  of  society  in  which  each  individual  considers 
the  feelings  and  needs  of  others  as  much  as  his  own.  With 
us  this  principle  is  not  preached  any  more,  but  it  is  actually 
practiced  in  all  our  affairs." 

"  I  will  try  to  keep  that  in  mind,"  I  said,  ''  although  it 
is  a  fact  I  can  hardly  realize.  But  about  this  matter  of 
houses  I  want  to  make  another  inquiry.  After  you  have 
become  established  in  a  beautiful  home  to  which  you  have 
no  more  right  than  anj^one  else,  what  is  to  prevent  some 
other  man  (I  use  the  word  for  convenience)  coming  forward 
and  asking  you  to  give  it  up  to  him  ?  " 

"  Nothing,"  answered  Thorwald.  "  In  such  a  case  I 
should  immediately  move  out  and  let  him  have  it,  knowing 
he  must  be  entirely  unselfish  in  the  matter  and  that  there 
must  be  some  sufficient  reason  for  the  request." 

"  But  would  you  go  to  all  the  trouble  of  moving  without 
even  knowing  his  reason  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  would  do  it  to  accommodate  him,  but  then  the 
trouble  would  be  nothing.  We  would  merely  have  to  go 
out  and  take  another  house." 

"  But  would  you  not  have  to  move  all  the  furni- 
ture ?  ' ' 

"  Oh,  no.  We  could  take  anything  we  pleased,  of 
course,  but  it  is  not  usual  to  make  radical  changes.  An- 
other house  would  contain  all  that  was  desirable.  As  a 
matter  of  fact,  however,  such  removals  are  by  no  means 
frequent.  We  usually  remain  in  one  place  and  acquire  all 
the  tender  associations  of  home  which  could  be  possible 
under  any  system.  But  if  a  family  should  increase  so  that 
it  would  be  better  for  them  to  take  a  larger  house,  they 
could  easily  find  one,  or  if  not  they  would  ask  those  who 
are  fond  of  that  work  to  build  one  to  their  taste.     The 


lOO  DAYBREAK. 

moment  a  thing  is  made  or  produced  it  belongs  to  the  gen- 
eral store,  to  be  used  by  any  and  all  who  need  it." 

"Under  such  conditions,"  said  I,  "what  we  call  the 
eighth  commandment  would  be  superfluous." 

"  If  that  refers  to  theft,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  you  are 
certainly  right,  for  it  is  impossible  to  steal  where  everything 
is  free. 

"  It  will  be  well  for  you  to  understand  how  happily  we 
have  solved  this  question  of  property,  but  of  course  we 
could  not  have  found  such  a  solution  until  we  had  first 
reached  a  high  spiritual  plane  and  learned  the  lesson  of 
true  brotherhood.  From  your  words  I  know  just  about  the 
point  in  our  development  which  corresponds  with  the  pres- 
ent state  of  your  race,  and  therefore  I  know  something  of 
the  nature  of  the  struggle  through  which  the  earth  is  now 
passing.  I  warn  you  that  the  unrestricted  right  of  private 
ownership  is  a  menace  to  your  civilization,  all  the  greater 
because  its  evil  is  probably  not  clearly  seen.  We  are 
assured  by  our  historians,  who  try  to  point  out  the  causes 
for  all  the  great  convulsions  in  our  career,  that  excessive 
individualism  in  property  rights,  with  its  selfish  disregard 
of  others,  was  a  potent  factor  in  the  downfall  of  many  of 
the  enlightened  nations  of  our  antiquity.  We  have  noticed 
that  even  our  animals  have  the  instinct  of  possession,  and 
it  is  certain  that  the  love  of  ownership  and  accumulation 
has  been  one  of  the  hardest  evils  to  eradicate  from  our  nat- 
urally selfish  nature.  If  you  should  ever  return  to  the 
earth,  do  not  neglect  to  signal  for  this  danger." 

"  But  what  is  the  remedy  ?  "  asked  the  doctor.  "  The 
system  of  which  you  have  been  speaking  might  be  called 
the  mainspring  of  our  society.  I  can  hardly  imagine  what 
we  should  be  without  it.  With  our  note  of  warning,  what 
.message  of  help  will  you  send  ?  " 


MARS    AS    IT    IS.  lOI 

*'  Doctor,"  answered  Thorvvald,  "it  pleases  me  to  hear 
you  ask  that  question,  and  I  am  rejoiced  also  that  I  have  so 
good  an  answer  for  you.  The  remedy  is  to  be  found  in  the 
law  of  love.  Follow  that  law  as  closely  as  possible.  Theway 
will  be  hard,  the  progress  slow,  but  every  step  taken  will  be 
a  solid  advance.  It  is  the  only  safe  road,  and  you  will  find 
that  every  other  will  lead  to  disappointment  and  disaster." 

Whenever  Thonvald  struck  these  high  spiritual  themes  he 
spoke  with  such  enthusiasm  and  positiveness  that  our  respect 
for  him  increased  rapidly. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

WE    REACH    THORWALd's    HOME, 

All  this  time  we  had  been  riding  leisurely  along,  enrap- 
tured with  the  delightful  country,  while  the  way  itself  and 
the  estates  on  either  hand  offered  such  variety  of  landscape 
that  the  view  never  became  tiresome  nor  uninteresting. 

But  as  the  day  was  waning,  our  friends  quickened  the  pace 
and  showed  us  a  burst  of  speed.  This  was  most  exhilarat- 
ing, and  soon  brought  us  to  the  station  where  Thorwald  told 
us  we  were  to  take  an  express  train  for  home,  which  was 
about  two  hundred  miles  distant. 

When  we  alighted  we  left  our  carriage  by  the  roadside 
among  many  others,  and  entered  an  immense  building. 
Both  inside  and  out  there  were  plenty  of  people  moving 
around,  but  without  noise  or  unpleasant  bustle.  With  no 
delay,  and  also  with  no  haste,  we  entered  what  appeared  to 
be  a  smaller  apartment  opening  out  of  the  general  waiting- 
room.  It  had  the  appearance  of  an  elegant  drawing-room, 
the  rich  but  comfortable-looking  furniture  being  disposed 
in  a  careless  manner,  which  helped  to  make  us  feel  at 
home,  if  anything  could  bring  us  that  sensation.  There 
was  a  door  at  each  end  of  the  room,  and  soon  these  were 
closed  and  we  felt  an  almost  imperceptible  jar.  The 
doctor  glanced  hastily  at  Thorwald  and  said  : 

"  Can  it  be  possible  that  we  are  to  travel  in  this  apart- 
ment ?  ' ' 


WE  REACH  THORWALD  S  HOME.  103 

"  Yes,"  answered  Thonvald,  "  this  is  our  modern  travel- 
ing coach,  and  we  are  already  on  our  way  to  the  city  in 
which  my  friend  here  and  I  reside." 

This  latter  fact  surprised  us,  for  we  could  not  perceive 
by  our  senses  that  we  were  in  motion.  But  as  we  sat  won- 
dering and  trying  to  imagine  ourselves  flying  through  space, 
the  doors  opened,  a  pleasant  breeze  fanned  our  cheeks, 
and  the  doors  closed  again,  we  felt  that  slight  jar  repeated, 
and  then  we  were  quiet  once  more.  This  occurred  every 
two  or  three  minutes,  and,  remembering  what  Thorwald  had 
previously  told  us,  we  realized  that  we  were  riding  in  a  per- 
fectly tight  car  in  a  vacuum  tube  and  that  these  short  but 
frequent  stops  were  to  keep  us  supplied  with  fresh  air. 

Thorwald  explained  this  to  us  again,  and  told  us  that  the 
coaches  were  of  dii^erent  sizes  to  accommodate  large  or 
small  parties,  and  that  one  could  ride  alone  if  he  chose  to. 
The  cars  started  so  frequently  that  it  was  seldom  necessary 
to  wait  more  than  a  few  minutes.  The  doctor  thought  there 
must  be  great  liability  to  accident,  but  Thorwald  said  : 

"  No,  we  do  not  consider  the  risk  worth  taking  into 
account.  Let  me  illustrate  with  a  familiar  example. 
Suppose  you  had  just  seen  a  cable  tested  with  a  ton's 
weight  without  a  strain.  Should  you  fear  to  take  hold  of 
the  cable  and  lift  yourself  from  the  ground  lest  it  might 
break  and  you  should  fall?  The  mechanism  of  this  road  is 
just  as  sure  as  that.  The  force  that  is  driving  us  forward 
is  no  longer  mysterious.  The  laws  of  electricity  are  well 
defined,  and  its  mighty  power  is  under  perfect  control. 
Nothing  is  left  to  chance,  and  the  result  is  that  there  have 
been  no  accidents  for  many,  many  years,  and  practically 
speaking  there  cannot  be  any." 

When  we  first  entered  the  coach  we  noticed  that  there 
were  no  windows,  and  as  the  doors  had  no  glass  we  won- 


I04  DAYBREAK. 

dered  why  it  was  not  dark.  The  light  was  good  broad  day- 
light, exactly  like  that  which  fills  a  room  when  there  are 
good  windows,  but  where  the  direct  rays  of  the  sun  do  not 
enter  ;  and,  as  we  could  see  no  lamps  nor  fixtures,  we  could 
not  understand  how  the  illumination  could  be  artificial.  But 
such  it  was.  We  carried  an  electric  battery  with  us,  and 
the  lamps  were  out  of  sight,  and  so  arranged  that  they  gave 
us  only  reflected  light.  The  system  was  so  perfect  that  the 
imitation  sunlight  was  just  as  good  as  the  real,  as  far  as  we 
could  discover. 

"  This  is  the  way  we  light  all  our  interiors,"  said  Thor- 
wald,  "  and  of  course  the  apparatus  is  so  governed  that 
we  can  have  any  amount  of  illumination  we  please,  little 
or  much." 

The  doctor  was  about  to  ask  some  question  in  relation  to 
this  practical  improvement,  when  he  was  stopped  by  hearing 
a  little  silver-toned  bell  ring.  In  an  instant  the  doors 
opened,  and  Thorwald  rose  and  announced  that  we  had 
reached  the  end  of  our  journey.  We  could  not  have  been 
in  the  car  more  than  fifteen  minutes,  and  the  doctor  and  I 
supposed  our  ride  of  two  hundred  miles  had  just  begun. 

"  Well,  if  you  travel  at  this  rate,"  said  the  doctor,  "  I 
do  not  wonder  you  have  obliterated  all  national  boundaries, 
for  the  ends  of  the  world  are  right  at  your  doors.  And 
now,  Thorwald,  I  would  like  to  see  the  great  tube  through 
which  we  have  been  carried  so  swiftly." 

Thorwald  smiled  a  little  and  led  the  way  through  an- 
other superb  waiting-room  out  into  the  open  air.  Here 
the  doctor  looked  in  all  directions,  but  could  see  nothing 
of  the  object  for  which  he  was  searching. 

"  You  have  seen  all  any  of  us  can  see,"  said  Thorwald. 
"  We  merely  step  into  the  comfortable  car,  sit  a  few 
minutes,  step  out  again,  and  go  home.    In  the  meantime  we 


WE    REACH    THORWALD  S    HOME.  I05 

have  been  carried  under  ground  and  under  water,  across 
valleys  and  through  hills,  but  the  way  itself,  the  tube 
through  which  the  car  flies,  is  entirely  hidden  from  sight. 
Where  it  is  above  ground,  trees  and  shrubbery  screen  it 
from  view,  so  that  it  does  not  mar  the  landscape.  We 
think  much  of  this,  and  should  regret  exceedingly  if  it 
became  necessary  for  any  such  utilitarian  object  to  interfere 
with  our  aesthetic  enjoyment  of  nature." 

Thorwald's  friend  now  took  leave  of  us,  expressing  the 
hope  that  he  would  soon  see  us  again.  He  had  taken  some 
little  part  in  our  conversation,  but  had  left  the  burden  of 
it  to  Thorwald,  who  was  older,  and  who  was,  moreover,  our 
first  acquaintance. 

It  seemed  singular  to  the  doctor  and  me  that  we  had  at- 
tracted so  little  attention  among  the  people  whom  we  had 
encountered  since  leaving  the  ship.  To  give  the  reason  for 
this,  which  we  afterwards  discovered,  is  to  reveal  one  of 
the  pleasantest  peculiarities  of  the  Martian  character — that 
is,  the  entire  absence  of  a  disagreeable  curiosity.  Our 
dress  and  appearance  and  the  rather  n«vel  circumstances 
connected  with  our  arrival  on  the  planet,  which  must 
quickly  have  become  known,  were  certainly  calculated  to 
excite  their  interest,  and  in  a  similar  situation  on  the 
earth  there  is  no  telling  what  might  have  happened  to  us 
from  a  curious  mob.  But  here  all  was  order  and  quiet. 
Everybody  went  about  his  own  business  and  treated  our 
party  with  additional  respect,  it  seemed,  because  some  of 
us  were  strangers.  We  found  out  later  how  anxious  all 
these  people  were  to  learn  everything  about  us,  but  they 
were  content  to  wait  till  the  knowledge  should  come  to 
them  in  a  proper  way. 

Thonvald  now  selected  a  light,  pretty  carriage,  and  after 
a  brisk  ride   through  another  charming  avenue  and  up  a 


Io6  DAYBREAK. 

Steep  hill,  we  alighted  at  the  door  of  a  noble  mansion 
whose  majestic  proportions  were  in  harmony  with  the  wide, 
open  plateau  upon  which  it  stood  alone.  Upon  entering, 
Thorwald  was  at  once  affectionately  greeted  by  his  wife, 
and  while  he  was  introducing  us  as  natives  of  another  world 
his  son  and  daughter  came  bounding  toward  him  from  an 
adjacent  room. 

These  were  quite  small  children,  but  in  a  few  moments 
Thorwald  brought  in  from  another  part  of  the  house  a  young 
woman  of  about  my  age,  apparently,  and  introduced  her  as 
a  neighbor.  It  needed  but  a  glance  to  tell  us  that  she  was 
beautiful  as  a  dream,  and  she  moved  about  with  that  exqui- 
site grace  which  comes  only  from  the  highest  culture. 
She  spoke  to  us  with  such  ease  and  naturalness  that  we  were 
at  once  relieved  from  whatever  embarrassment  the  circum- 
stances might  easily  occasion. 

"  Antonia  is  our  very  dear  friend,"  said  Thorwald,  "  and, 
although  she  hides  her  curiosity  so  well,  you  will  find  her 
an  exceedingly  interested  listener  to  your  history  and 
adventures."  » 

"Yes,"  said  the  charming  voice  of  Antonia,  "Thor- 
wald has  told  me  just  enough  about  you  to  make  me  want 
to  know  more.  Your  moon,  which  is  so  much  larger  than 
our  little  satellites,  caused  a  great  sensation  when  it  was 
seen  coming  toward  us  so  rapidly.  The  situation  was  well 
calculated  to  cause  us  anxiety,  if  we  had  been  subject  to 
such  a  feeling,  but,  as  usual  with  us  at  the  present  day,  it 
has  turned  out  to  our  advantage ;  for  it  has  given  us  two 
such  worthy  representatives  of  a  neighboring  race." 

"I  am  sure,"  I  answered,  "  that  the  advantage  is  greatly 
on  our  side." 

I  could  not  say  more,  for  I  was  conscious  that  the  doctor 
was  watching  closely  to  see  how  I  was  affected  by  the  pres- 


WE    REACH    THORWALD  S   HOME,  107 

ence  of  this  royal  girl.  When  he  saw  I  was  inclined  to  be 
somewhat  quiet  he  felt  impelled  to  say  something,  and 
offered  the  following  compromising  remark  : 

"  If  we  had  only  brought  Mona  safely  off  the  moon  with 
us,  you  would  have  had  something  more  worthy  of  your 
interest  than  we  are,  and  my  friend  here  also  would  now 
be  in  better  spirits." 

Antonia  had  a  question  in  her  eyes  but  her  perfect  breed- 
ing kept  her  from  putting  it  into  words,  after  the  final 
expression  of  the  doctor's  speech.  Of  course,  I  could  not 
ignore  the  allusion,  and  said  : 

"  Mona  is  a  friend  of  the  doctor's  whom  I  have  not  the 
pleasure  of  knowing.  I  suppose  he  thinks  her  cheerful 
disposition,  of  which  I  have  heard  before,  would  make  our 
present  situation  even  more  enjoyable  than  it  is.  Speaking 
for  myself,  however,  I  think  that  would  be  impossible." 

With  that  she  rose,  and,  with  a  pleasant  word  of  adieu  to 
us,  told  Thorwald  she  would  come  in  another  day  after  we 
were  well  rested. 

It  was  now  approaching  night-fall  and  dinner  was  to  be 
speedily  announced.  The  doctor  and  I  were  shown  to  a 
suite  of  dressing-rooms,  and  as  soon  as  we  were  alone  he 
said  : 

"  Do  you  think  Antonia  is  as  handsome  as  Mona  ?  " 

"  If  you  will  show  me  Mona  I  shall  then  be  able  to 
judge.  But  how  did  I  carry  myself  on  my  first  introduction 
to  a  daughter  of  Mars  ?  Do  you  think  I  am  in  any  danger 
of  putting  her  in  Margaret's  place  in  my  heart  ?  " 

"Perhaps  not,"  replied  the  doctor.  "  You  kept  com- 
mand of  yourself  pretty  well ;  but  I  think  the  secret  of  that 
is  that  you  have  not  quite  forgotten  Mona." 

"  Excuse  my  frankness.  Doctor,  but  I  must  tell  you  I  am 
getting  a  little  tired  of  Mona.     I  wish  I  might  never  hear 


I08  DAYBREAK. 

her  name  again.  If  I  can  resist  the  charms  of  such  an 
exquisite  bundle  of  perfections  as  Antonia  is,  do  you  think 
I  am  likely  to  be  overcome  by  a  mocking-bird  of  your 
imagination  ?  " 

"  If  you  could  only  hear  the  voice  of  that  bird  once 
more,"  replied  the  doctor,  "  you  would  soon  begin  to  sing 
another  tune.  But  let  us  go  down  if  you  are  ready,  and 
not  keep  them  waiting." 

We  had  looked  forward  with  much  interest  to  our  first 
meal  in  one  of  these  sumptuous  houses,  and,  moreover, 
being  quite  hungry,  we  were  glad  to  find  that  we  were  just 
in  time  to  sit  down.  If  we  had  felt  any  fear  lest  the 
absence  of  meat  would  make  a  meager  bill  of  fare,  the 
experience  of  the  next  hour  relieved  us.  The  dishes  were 
all  strange,  but  highly  palatable,  and  the  fact  that  there 
wa,s  nothing  that  appeared  to  be  in  the  least  unwholesome 
did  not  detract  from  the  delicious  savor  which  every  viand 
possessed.  The  rich  variety  of  courses  and  the  elegance  of 
the  service  made  it  a  dinner  long  to  be  remembered,  and 
gave  a  new  zest  to  our  life  on  Mars. 

It  had  been  a  long  day  to  us,  and  we  were  allowed  to 
retire  at  an  early  hour,  being  conducted  to  adjacent  and 
communicating  rooms.  But,  though  our  fatigue  was  great, 
it  is  not  strange  that  we  lay  awake  awhile,  talking  of  the 
wonderful  things  we  had  seen  and  heard.  Speaking  of  the 
Martian  method  of  rapid  transit  the  doctor  said  : 

"  Besides  its  expedition,  there  is  another  feature  to 
recommend  their  way  of  traveling." 

"  What  is  that  ?  " 

"  Why,  there  is  no  danger  of  getting  a  seat  just  behind  a 
window  fiend." 

"There  is  something  in  that,"  I  answered,  "but  I  am 
thinking  just  now  of  our  dinner.     We  must  certainly  learn 


WE    REACH    THORWALD  S    HOME.  I09 

how  to  cook  eggs  and  vegetables  before  we  return  to  the 
earth." 

The  character  of  our  conversation,  judged  from  these 
scraps,  shows  that  we  had  no  excuse  for  remaining  awake 
any  longer. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


A    MORNING    TALK. 


Next  morning  we  arose  early,  but  found  the  family 
already  up.  Thorvvald  seemed  disposed  to  lose  no  time 
in  showing  and  telling  us  everything  interesting,  and  so 
invited  us  at  once  to  the  top  of  the  house,  to  take  a  view 
of  the  country.  The  sun  was  just  rising,  and  its  pleasant 
rays  lighted  up  a  scene  of  surpassing  beauty.  We  seemed 
to  be  set  in  the  middle  of  a  vast  park,  whose  boundaries 
extended  in  all  directions  as  far  as  we  could  see.  The 
landscape  presented  the  most  varied  character,  wood  and 
water,  hill  and  plain,  and  every  feature  needed  to  make  a 
most  delightful  picture.  Not  the  least  of  its  charms,  and 
perhaps  the  greatest,  was  the  profusion  of  color,  which  filled 
the  vision  and  satisfied  the  sense  of  beauty  with  its  con- 
trasts and  its  harmonies.  Some  of  the  hills  might  justly 
be  called  mountains,  and  yet  on  the  rugged  sides  as  well  as 
on  the  summit  of  each  were  grand  mansions  surrounded  by 
cultivated  fields. 

The  doctor  made  some  remark  about  this  latter  fact,  and 
Thorvvald  said  : 

"  These  situations,  which  would  be  almost  inaccessible 
without  the  aid  of  electricity,  are  now  the  favorite  sites  for 
building.  This  wonderful  power  levels  all  hills  in  the  ease 
with  which  it  docs  its  work.  No  task  is  too  hard  for  it  and 
it  asks  no  sympathy,  so  we  may  as  well  ride  and  carry  our 


A    MORXIXG    TALK.  Ill 

freight  up  hill,  if  we  prefer  it,  and  build  our  houses  on  the 
mountain  tops.  One  characteristic  of  our  nature  has  not 
changed,  and  there  is  still  a  great  variety  of  taste,  so  that 
plenty  of  people  choose  the  lower  land  to  build  upon,  I 
see  by  your  faces  that  you  both  admire  this  panorama  and 
think  we  were  wise  to  place  our  house  on  such  high  ground. 
We  like  to  have  our  friends  take  this  view  in  the  morning, 
when  the  world  has  been  freshened  by  the  night's  rain." 

"  Is  it  not  just  as  beautiful  at  sunset  after  a  shower?  "  I 
asked. 

"  Oh,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  I  haven't  told  you  that  it 
never  rains  in  the  day-time,  have  I  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed,  that's  another  surprise  for  us.  But  how  is 
it  managed  ?  " 

"  You  will  remember  I  told  you,"  said  Thorwald  in  re- 
ply, "  that  it  was  found  that  rain  enough  fell  for  all  parts 
of  the  world  if  it  could  only  be  rightly  distributed.  Then 
when  we  had  discovered  by  a  long  series  of  experiments  how 
to  make  the  clouds  shed  their  water  at  our  pleasure,  we  set 
about  devising  a  means  whereby  we  could  give  each  section 
the  right  quantity  of  rain  at  just  the  right  time. 

"  We  established  a  central  bureau  in  each  country  and 
let  the  people  in  every  city  or  district  vote  and  send  in 
their  request  for  a  shower  or  a  long  rain  ten  days  in  advance. 
At  first  it  required  only  a  majority  vote,  but  this  occasioned 
no  end  of  trouble,  as  half  the  community  would  often  be- 
lieve they  were  suffering  for  want  of  rain  when  the  other  half 
wanted  fair  weather.  Then  the  rule  was  changed  so  as  to 
make  a  three-quarters  vote  necessary,  which  did  not  help 
matters  much,  for  very  often  the  crops  would  be  seriously 
damaged  before  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  people  could 
be  brought  to  see  the  desirability  of  a  rainy  day. 

"  At  length   the  happy  thought  was  conceived  of  letting 


112  DAYBREAK. 

it  rain  over  each  part  of  the  country  every  night,  and  giv- 
ing the  right  to  vote  only  on  the  quantity  desired.  This 
keeps  everything  fresh  and  has  been  found  of  immense 
benefit  to  vegetation.  Besides,  it  inconveniences  no  one,  in 
the  present  state  of  our  society,  however  it  might  have  been 
when  the  plan  was  first  adopted." 

"What  of  those  people,"  I  asked,  "  whose  occupation 
or  pleasure  calls  them  out  in  the  night  ?  " 

"We  have  no  such  class,"  replied  Thorwald.  "We 
have  found  by  long  experience  that  it  is  best  to  follow  the 
indication  of  nature,  and  take  the  day  for  labor  and  the 
night  for  rest.  This  practice  and  the  attention  devoted  to 
our  diet  have  been  chief  factors  in  lengthening  the  span 
of  our  lives.  If  this  line  of  action  is  best  for  one  it  is  best 
for  all,  and,  as  everybody  is  doing  the  best  he  can,  it  fol- 
lows that  there  are  literally  no  people  out  at  night." 

"  I  suppose  you  would  call  me  stupid  again,"  said  I, 
"  if  I  should  ask  if  you  have  any  such  old-time  personages 
as  guardians  of  the  peace." 

"  Indeed  I  should,"  answered  our  friend,  "  for  you  ought 
to  know  us  better.  If  you  will  excuse  a  poor  witticism, 
the  peace  is  old  enough  on  our  planet  to  go  without  a 
guardian." 

As  we  smiled  at  this  the  doctor  was  encouraged  to  try  his 
hand,  but,  not  feeling  equal  to  addressing  a  pleasantry  to 
the  usually  august  Martian,  he  turned  to  me  and  remarked  : 

"  This  would  be  a  pretty  poor  place  for  an  umbrella  trust, 
wouldn't  it  ?  " 

As  we  left  our  place  of  outlook  and  made  our  way  down 
stairs,  Thorwald  resumed  : 

"  As  I  have  said  before,  we  have  reached  our  present 
happy  condition  through  many  bitter  experiences.  We 
read  that  at  one  time  people  had  so  much  work  to  do  and 


A    MORNING    TALK.  113 

were  so  thoughtless  as  to  what  was  good  for  their  physical 
welfare  that  they  began  to  rob  themselves  of  their  proper 
rest.  Others  found  it  convenient  to  follow  occupations 
which  obliged  them  to  work  all  night  and  get  what  sleep 
they  could  in  the  day-time.  Night  was  considered  about 
the  only  time  that  could  be  utilized,  also,  for  the  activities 
of  social  life. 

"  This  condition  lasted  a  long  time,  with  the  tendency 
continually  toward  the  practice  of  encroaching  more  and 
more  upon  the  hours  of  rest  appointed  by  nature.  It  was 
then  the  period  of  making  many  laws,  and  large  and  influ- 
ential legislative  bodies  began  to  set  a  bad  example  to  the 
rest  of  the  world  by  holding  their  sessions  mainly  in  the 
night.  Newspapers  thought  it  necessary  to  appear  full- 
fledged  at  the  break  of  day,  and  the  railroads  made  but 
little  distinction  between  darkness  and  daylight  in  the 
matter  of  carrying  people  hither  and  thither.  The  change 
was  slow,  but  it  was  in  the  wrong  direction.  Darkness  was 
driven  out  by  more  improved  methods  of  lighting,  and 
houses  and  streets  were  brilliant  the  whole  night  long;  and 
it  finally  became  the  fashion  in  both  society  and  business 
circles  literally  to  turn  night  into  day.  For  a  time  that 
remained  the  universal  custom,  strange  as  it  seems  to  us 
now,  but  the  practice  of  sleeping  in  the  day-time  never 
became  natural.  This  means  that  the  whole  world  was 
living  on  from  year  to  year  without  the  amount  of  rest 
required  to  keep  the  race  alive.  There  could  be  but  one 
result.  A  brood  of  nervous  troubles  fell  upon  us;  life 
began  to  shorten,  and  we  became  aware  that  a  serious  crisis 
was  before  us.  As  soon  as  we  were  convinced  that  we  were 
bringing  all  this  evil  upon  ourselves  by  our  disregard  of 
the  laws  of  nature,  there  was  a  change;  and  it  is  well  for 
us  that  there  was  still  virility  enough  left  in  the  race  to 


114  DAYBREAK, 

make  a  change  possible.  A  gradual  reform  was  instituted 
which,  overcoming  many  difficulties  and  delays  but  with  no 
serious  set-backs,  brought  us,  after  long  years,  to  our  pres- 
ent happy  way.  Of  course,  our  improvement  in  every  other 
direction,  moral  as  well  as  physical,  assisted  us  all  along 
in  this  reform.  Now,  looking  back  on  our  course,  and  com- 
paring our  present  with  our  former  state,  we  are  perfectly 
sure  what  is  best  for  us,  and  he  would  be  a  rash  man  who 
should  intimate  that  we  are  not  doing  right  in  using  the 
night  for  rest. 

"  But  this  is  getting  to  be  quite  a  long  talk  for  so  early 
in  the  morning.     Let  us  see  if  breakfast  is  not  ready." 

This  meal  proved  to  be  as  appetizing  as  the  first,  although 
the  dishes  were  entirely  different ;  being  made  up,  appar- 
ently, of  fruit  and  cereals. 

The  doctor  and  I  had  been  exceedingly  interested  in  the 
way  the  dinner  of  the  evening  before  had  been  served. 
We  did  not  understand  it,  and  now  we  were  equally  puzzled 
to  see  the  breakfast  courses  come  and  go.  No  one  came 
in  to  make  any  change  in  the  table,  and  our  hostess  seemed 
to  have  as  little  to  do  with  it  as  the  rest  of  us.  She  pre- 
sided with  great  dignity,  and,  as  I  watched  the  changes 
going  on  with  such  perfect  ease  and  quiet,  I  could  not 
refrain  from  saying : 

"  If  it  is  proper  for  me  to  ask,  will  you  tell  us  how  this 
is  done,  Mrs. — ■ " 

"We  do  not  use  those  titles  now,"  she  interrupted. 
"  Call  me  Zenith,  the  name  by  which  I  was  introduced  to 
you.  I  suppose  Thorwald  has  told  you  that  electricity 
does  nearly  all  our  work.  I  arrange  things  in  order  before 
the  meal  begins,  and  then  by  merely  touching  a  button 
under  the  table  the  apparatus  is  set  in  motion  which  brings 
and  takes  away  everything  in  the  manner  you  see." 


A    MORNING    TALK.  II5 

"It  is  wonderful,"  I  exclaimed.  "And  if  we  are  to 
believe  all  that  Thorwald  has  told  us,  I  suppose  you  have 
no  servants  for  any  department  of  work." 

"  You  are  not  entirely  right,"  she  returned.  "  We  have 
excellent  servants.  This  obedient  power,  that  does  our 
work  so  willingly,  is  our  servant,  and  so  is  the  mechanism 
with  which  our  houses  are  filled,  and  through  which  this 
silent  force  is  exerted.  Many  of  our  animals  are  domes- 
ticated and  trained  to  do  light  services,  but  as  for  servants 
of  our  own  flesh  and  blood,  no  such  class  exists.  We  all 
share  whatever  work  there  is,  and  no  labor  is  menial. 
Whatever  I  ask  others  to  do  I  am  glad  to  do  for  them  when 
occasion  offers.  Do  not  suppose  we  are  idle.  There  is 
work  for  us,  but  with  our  abundant  strength  and  continual 
good  health  it  is  never  a  burden.  Then  there  are  the  duties 
connected  with  our  higher  life  and  education,  for  we  are 
ever  seeking  to  fit  ourselves  for  a  still  better  existence 
than  this." 

We  had  now  finished  breakfast  and  were  walking  through 
the  house.  Zenith  was  a  beautiful  woman,  although,  from 
our  point  of  view,  of  such  generous  proportions.  She  pos- 
sessed the  perfect  form  and  the  vigor  and  health  of  all  the 
Martians.  She  was,  moreover,  graceful,  modest,  and  win- 
ning. But  Thorwald  and  the  other  men  that  we  had  seen 
possessed  these  latter  qualities  also,  and  Zenith  exhib- 
ited the  same  strength  of  mind  and  the  same  devotion  to 
lofty  aims  as  her  husband.  In  their  equipment  for  the 
duties  of  life  and  in  the  ability  to  do  valiant  service  for 
their  kind  they  seemed  equal.  Evidently  neither  had  a 
monopoly  of  any  class  of  advantages,  either  of  mind,  body, 
or  estate. 


CHAPTER     XIV. 

PROCTOR    SHOWS    US    THE    EARTH, 

We  discovered  at  once  that  the  Mars  dwellers  understand 
what  genuine  hospitality  is,  for  we  found  ourselves  at  per- 
fect liberty  to  do  what  best  pleased  us  without  restraint  from 
our  hosts.  With  so  much  to  tell  us  of  their  own  high  civili- 
zation and  with  so  many  questions  still  to  ask  about  the 
earth,  there  was  no  haste  nor  undue  curiosity.  Much  less 
was  there  any  attempt  yet  by  Thorwald  to  resume  the  argu- 
ment about  the  habitability  of  other  worlds. 

But  at  the  same  time  we  were  aware  that  our  friends  were 
at  our  service,  and  early  in  the  afternoon  Thonvald  asked 
us  if  we  could  think  of  anything  we  should  like  to  see. 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  I  should  like  to  see  the  earth." 

"  No  doubt,  my  friend,  but  I  don't  see  exactly  how  I  am 
going  to  take  you  there." 

"  I  did  not  expect  that,"  said  I ;  "  but,  after  all  you  have 
hinted  about  your  advance  in  astronomical  science,  I 
thought  you  might  give  us  a  pretty  good  view  of  the  earth 
without  going  any  nearer  to  it  than  we  are  now." 

"  Oh,  that's  what  you  mean,  is  it?  Excuse  me  for  being 
so  dull.  Is  it  not  singular  that  I  should  wait  to  be  asked 
to  show  you  the  wonders  of  our  telescopes  ?  Zenith,  let  us 
all  go  with  them  to  see  their  home,  about  which  we  have 
so  often  speculated. 

"We  have  many  good  observatories,"  continued  Thor- 


PROCTOR    SHOWS    US    THE    EARTH.  I17 

wald,  speaking  to  the  doctor  and  me,  ''  some  of  which  are 
noted  for  one  line  of  study  and  some  for  another.  The 
one  that  has  given  the  most  attention  to  observing  the  earth 
and  tliat  has  the  best  instruments  for  that  work  is  situated 
on  the  other  side  of  our  planet." 

'•'  Then,  of  course,"  said  I,  "  we  will  choose  one  nearer 
home  for  our  visit." 

"Why  so?"  asked  Thonvald.  "It  is  always  wise  to 
get  the  best  when  you  can." 

"  Yes,  but  we  do  not  want  you  to  take  the  time  and 
trouble  to  make  a  journey  half  around  your  world  just 
because  I  said  I  would  like  to  see  the  earth." 

"  Oh,  our  time  is  yours,  and  we  will  not  make  trouble  of 
it;  we  will  call  it  a  pleasure  trip.  We  may  as  well  take 
the  children,  Zenith;  they  will  enjoy  it.  How  soon  can 
you  all  be  ready?  " 

"  In  five  minutes,"  answered  Zenith. 

"  Then  we  had  better  get  off  at  once,"  said  Thorvvald. 

And  without  further  words  this  remarkable  family  scat- 
tered to  different  parts  of  the  house  and  in  five  minutes  Avere 
ready  to  begin  a  journey  of  five  or  six  thousand  miles,  and 
the  only  reason  they  did  not  start  at  once  was  that  the  doc- 
tor and  I  were  not  quite  so  expeditious.  We  were  soon  on 
our  way,  however,  having  locked  no  doors  behind  us  and 
leaving  everything  just  as  if  we  were  to  return  in  an  hour. 

We  took  an  electric  carriage  to  the  station,  and  from 
there  went  by  the  tubular  road  to  the  metropolis.  This 
was  a  great  city  whence  there  was  direct  communication 
to  all  the  principal  centers  of  population  on  the  planet. 
As  we  had  not  been  in  any  haste  in  making  the  changes 
necessary  to  reach  this  stage  of  our  journey,  it  was  now  late 
in  the  day,  and  I  began  to  wonder  how  we  were  to  continue 
the   trip  without   being  out   in   the  night.     When  I  men- 


Il8  DAYBREAK. 

tioned  my  thought  to  Thonvald,  he  removed  the  difficulty 
in  a  moment  by  saying  : 

"  We  simply  travel  west  and  leave  the  night  behind  us. 
You  know  the  surface  of  Mars,  even  at  the  equator,  goes 
east  at  the  rate  of  only  five  hundred  miles  an  hour,  and  as 
our  modern  cars  take  us  much  faster  than  that,  it  is  easy  for 
us  to  keep  ahead  of  the  night  by  going  in  the  right  direc- 
tion.    So  in  making  long  trips  we  try  to  travel  west." 

"  But  suppose  you  want  to  go  east?  " 

"  Then  we  go  west  to  get  east,  and  we  arrange  the  speed 
so  as  to  get  to  our  destination  in  the  day-time." 

We  left  our  car  and  found  another  just  ready  to  start  for 
the  distant  city  in  which  our  observatory  was  situated.  It 
was  a  small  car  comparatively,  and  we  had  it  all  to  our- 
selves. There  were  all  sorts  of  conveniences  in  it,  and  we 
composed  ourselves  for  a  good  rest.  After  a  ride  of  sev- 
eral hours  we  reached  our  destination.  It  was  now  about 
noon,  so  that  we  had  actually  made  nearly  half  a  day,  be- 
sides the  time  spent  in  sleep  while  riding.  I  know  some  of 
my  friends  on  the  earth,  who  say  the  day  is  too  short  for 
them,  would  appreciate  such  an  impro\ement  as  that  if 
they  could  have  it. 

W^e  passed  part  of  the  afternoon  in  riding  about  the 
city.  The  same  language  was  spoken  here  as  was  used  on 
Thorwald's  sideof  the  globe;  but,  although  communication 
was  so  easy,  we  found  enough  difference  in  the  architecture 
and  in  the  general  appearance  of  the  people  to  make  travel 
interesting. 

Toward  night  we  all  alighted  at  the  door  of  the  observa- 
tory, and  the  doctor  and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  making  the 
acquaintance  of  a  man  of  Mars  who  had  spent  many  years 
in  studying  the  surface  of  the  earth.  It  may  be  imagined 
that  he  was  glad  to  meet  us  and  to  get  our  answers  to  many 


PROCTOR    SHOWS    US    THE    EARTH.  II9 

questions  which  had  long  perplexed  him,  some  of  which  he 
had  never  hoped  to  have  solved. 

Proctor,  for  this  was  the  name  by  which  he  was  intro- 
duced, was  one  of  the  oldest  men  we  had  seen,  and  im- 
pressed us  as  one  possessed  of  great  wisdom.  His  manner 
was  so  dignified,  also,  that  it  seemed  quite  as  inappropriate 
to  address  him  without  a  title  as  it  was  to  call  our  hostess 
plain  Zenith.  But  when  I  asked  Thorwald  aside  what  I 
should  call  him,  he  said  : 

"  Call  him  by  his  name,  just  as  you  do  the  rest  of  us. 
We  have  but  one  name  each." 

**  I  should  think  that  would  be  confusing,"  said  I. 
*'  For  example,  how  are  you  to  be  distinguished  from  any 
other  Thorwald?  " 

"  There  is  no  other  that  I  ever  heard  of.  There  are 
names  enough  to  go  all  around." 

As  night  came  on  we  were  brought  face  to  face  with  the 
great  instrument  whose  work  of  observing  the  earth  was 
known  far  and  wide. 

Proctor  was  occupied  a  short  time  in  adjusting  it,  and 
then  asked  us  if  we  could  recognize  what  was  in  the  field. 
I  motioned  to  the  doctor,  but  as  he  insisted  that  I  should 
take  the  first  view  I  put  my  eye  to  the  glass  with  much 
trepidation.  Instead  of  the  magnified  disk  of  the  earth, 
which  I  expected  to  behold,  I  saw  but  a  small  portion  of 
the  surface,  and  that  a  familiar  stretch  of  coast  line.  I 
never  knew  whether  Proctor  thought  by  our  accent  or  by 
the  cut  of  our  clothes  that  we  were  New  Englanders,  but  he 
had  so  pointed  the  telescope  that  our  first  sight  of  the  earth 
showed  us  dear  old  Massachusetts  Bay,  with  its  islands  and 
boundaries.  I  did  not  speak  till  the  doctor  had  looked, 
and  then  we  told  the  others  of  our  pleasant  surprise. 

Proctor  made  another  adjustment,  saying  he  would  bring 


120  DAYBREAK. 

the  globe  still  nearer  to  us,  and  we  looked  and  saw  a  patch 
of  beautiful  green  country.  It  appeared  to  be  but  a  few 
miles  away,  and  we  thought  we  ought  to  distinguish  large 
objects.  But  the  appearance  was  deceptive  in  this  respect, 
and  Proctor  told  us  they  had  not  been  able  to  determine 
definitely  whether  the  earth  was  inhabited.  They  could 
see  important  changes  going  on  from  time  to  time ;  they 
believed  they  could  tell  cultivated  from  wild  land;  certain 
peculiar  spots  they  called  large  cities ;  and  there  were 
many  such  indications  of  inhabitants.  But  they  had  not 
yet  beheld  man  nor  his  unquestioned  footsteps.  As  to  their 
belief  on  the  subject,  they  had  the  strongest  faith  that  the 
earth  was  peopled  by  an  intelligent  race,  and  Proctor  added 
that  he  rejoiced  to  see  that  faith  so  happily  justified  by  our 
presence.  To  which  the  doctor  pleasantly  replied  that  he 
should  be  sorry  to  have  him  judge  of  the  intelligence  of  the 
race  at  large  from  two  such  inferior  specimens. 

One  question  which  Proctor  asked  was,  whether  we  had 
ever  made  any  attempt  to  communicate  with  the  other 
planets.  We  told  him  we  had  not,  but  that  if  we  should 
ever  try  such  a  thing  it  would  probably  be  with  Mars  ;  but 
that  it  would  be  useless  to  think  of  it  with  our  present 
astronomical  attainments,  for  if  we  should  succeed  in 
attracting  the  attention  of  another  world  we  would  not  know 
it,  because  we  could  not  see  the  answer. 

Proctor  said  they  had  sometimes  seen  moving  masses 
which  were  not  clouds,  but  which  they  took  for  smoke  and 
were  not  sure  but  they  might  be  intended  for  signals.  We 
replied  that  if  it  were  smoke  that  they  saw  it  was  probably 
caused  by  forest  fires,  but  if  we  ever  reached  the  earth  again 
we  would  organize  a  company  and  try  to  make  some  elec- 
tric signals  which  they  could  see. 


CHAPTER    XV. 


A    NIGHT    ADVENTURE, 


It  was  late  when  the  conversation  closed,  and  Proctor 
said  we  were  to  spend  the  night  with  him  of  course,  and  in 
the  morning  he  would  take  pleasure  in  introducing  to  us  the 
other  members  of  his  household. 

The  residence  buildings,  beautiful  and  commodious  struc- 
tures, adjoined  the  observatory,  and  to  each  of  us  was  given 
a  separate  apartment.  After  Proctor  had  left  us,  Thorwald 
came  into  my  room  a  moment  and  I  said  to  him  : 

"  Proctor  is  a  friend  of  yours,  is  he  not?  " 

"Certainly,"  answered  Thorwald,  "what  could  he  be 
but  a  friend?     But  then  I  never  saw  him  before  to-day." 

"  Is  it  possible?  Are  strangers  always  treated  so  hos- 
pitably?" 

"  I  see  nothing  unusual  in  his  treatment  of  us.  We  are 
always  at  perfect  liberty  to  stay  wherever  night  overtakes  us, 
and  it  makes  no  dil^erence  with  the  quality  of  the  hospi- 
tality whether  the  guests  are  acquaintances  or  not." 

The  memory  of  that  night  will  remain  with  me  many 
years.  Before  falling  asleep  I  let  my  mind  dwell  on  the 
singular  circumstances  in  which  we  were  placed  and  the 
strange  manner  of  our  leaving  the  earth.  I  had  never  expe- 
rienced anything  that  seemed  more  real,  and  yet  I  could 
not  make  it  appear  quite  reasonable  that  we  were  in  truth 
living  on  the  planet  Mars.     All  I  could  say  was  that  it  was 


122  DAYBREAK. 

an  instance  where  the  facts  were  against  the  theory,  and  I 
knew  that  in  such  cases  it  was  always  safest  to  believe  in 
the  facts.  I  could  distinctly  remember  each  step  of  our 
journey,  and  there  could  be  no  mistake  about  our  present 
understanding.  What  settled  the  question  more  firmly  than 
ever  was  this  thought :  If  we  were  not  on  Mars,  where  were 
we?     We  must  be  somewhere. 

By  the  time  I  had  disposed  of  all  my  doubts  I  was  becom- 
ing drowsy,  and  then  I  began  to  think  of  the  doctor  and 
his  unfortunate  condition  of  mind.  This  malady  would 
doubtless  increase  and  I  should  have  to  look  out  for  him, 
and  at  the  same  time  fill  the  arduous  position  of  the  only 
sound  representative  of  our  race  in  Mars.  I  resolved  to  try 
once  more  to  make  my  companion  see  how  ridiculous  his 
strange  fancy  was  and  realize  the  danger  of  clinging  to  it. 

With  this  thought  my  brain  lost  coherence,  and  I  passed 
over  the  invisible  boundary  into  dreamland.  It  was  a 
beautiful  evening  in  summer.  I  was  at  home  among  my 
friends  and  we  were  sitting  in  the  open  air.  The  doctor 
was  there,  taking  his  turn  with  me  in  telling  the  story  of 
our  adventures.  This  went  on  till  our  listeners  were  tired 
out,  and  then  one  of  the  company  gave  a  little  variety  to 
the  occasion  by  singing  a  capital  song. 

Here  the  scene  changed  to  the  country.  It  was  morning 
in  the  woods.  The  trees  wore  their  spring  foliage,  bright 
flowers  spread  their  beauty  and  fragrance  around  us,  and 
the  air  was  filled  with  the  music  of  birds.  The  sweet  notes 
of  these  songsters  were  by  far  the  most  vivid  part  of  the 
dream.  Now  loud,  now  soft,  the  unbroken  melody  absorbed 
our  attention  and  made  it  difiicult  for  us  to  understand  how 
our  situation  again  gradually  changed,  until  the  air  became 
piercingly  cold,  the  cruel  wind  beat  upon  us  furiously,  and 
the  violent  elements  seemed  bent   upon  our  destruction. 


A    NIGHT    ADVENTURE.  I23 

The  doctor  and  I  were  alone,  and  the  surroundings  bore  a 
strange  resemblance  to  the  inhospitable  surface  of  the  moon. 
But  what  are  those  sweet  sounds  still  ringing  in  our  ears? 
Sure  no  birds  could  live  in  such  a  wild  place.  No,  it  is 
not  a  bird's  song.  It  is  more  like  a  human  voice.  I  thought 
I  had  never  before  heard  music  so  pure  and  rich.  But 
wait — had  I  not  heard  something  like  it  once  before?  There 
was  a  mystery  about  it  that  enhanced  its  sweetness.  Now 
I  was  really  thinking,  for  before  I  knew  how  it  happened 
I  found  myself  wide  awake.  The  dream  was  over,  but,  oh  ! 
wonderful  dream,  the  best  of  it  remained.  i\Iy  sense  of 
hearing,  always  acute,  had  waked  long  before  and  left 
my  other  faculties  to  slumber  on  and  dream  out  the  unreal 
accompaniments  of  a  real  voice.  For  now,  with  my 
eyes  open  and  my  mind  released  from  sleep,  I  still  heard 
that  marvelous,  half-familiar  song. 

Could  I  be  deceived?  I  determined  to  know  beyond  a 
doubt  that  I  was  awake.  I  rose  and,  throwing  on  a  dressing- 
gown,  turned  up  the  light  and  walked  about  the  room.  I 
looked  in  the  mirror  to  see  if  my  eyes  were  open,  and  then 
ate  a  little  fruit  from  a  tempting  dish  that  stood  on  the 
table.  In  one  corner  of  the  room  was  an  elegant  writing- 
desk.  I  opened  it,  found  its  appointments  complete,  drew 
up  a  comfortable  chair,  and,  choosing  pen  and  paper,  deter- 
mined to  record  my  impressions  for  future  perusal,  if  by  any 
means  my  memory  should  fail  me.     This  is  what  I  wrote  : 

"  I,  the  undersigned,  am  in  my  private  room  in  the  house 

of  Proctor,  the  astronomer,  province  of ,  planet  Mars. 

It  is  about  the  middle  of  the  night,  precise  date  unknown. 
I  am  wide  awake,  in  my  usual  health,  appetite  good,  heart 
a  little  fluttering  but  temperature  and  pulse  normal.  I  have 
been  awakened  from    sleep    by  strains   of    distant   music, 


124  DAYBREAK. 

which  mingled  with  my  dreams  but  refused  to  be  silenced 
when  the  rest  of  the  dreams  melted  away.  Now,  while  I  am 
writing,  the  delicious  melody  fills  my  ears.  I  never  before 
heard  so  sweet  a  voice,  unless,  indeed,  I  have  heard  the 
same  voice  before.  In  regard  to  this  I  can  form  no  present 
opinion.  I  must  take  another  time  to  consider  it.  Now  I 
cannot  think,  I  am  so  engrossed  in  listening  to  the  singer's 
entrancing  notes.  The  song  is  so  full  of  light  and  cheer 
and  sends  such  beautiful  thoughts  trooping  through  my  brain 
that  I  wish  it  may  go  on  forever." 

I  signed  my  name  to  this  with  a  firm  hand,  and  then,  as 
I  leaned  back  in  my  chair  to  close  my  eyes  and  drink  in 
more  deeply  still  this  rare  enjoyment,  darkness  seemed  to 
fall  suddenly  upon  my  spirit.  The  voice  ceased,  and  in  a 
moment  the  last  sweet  echoes  had  died  away. 

I  crept  into  bed  as  speedily  as  possible,  to  try  to  for- 
get my  sadness  in  sleep.  But  oblivion  would  not  be  forced, 
and  so  I  took  what  comfort  I  could  in  thinking  of  that 
interrupted  song,  and  in  trying  to  feel  over  again  in 
memory  that  pleasure  which  my  fleshly  ears  no  longer  gave 
me.  I  could  still  recognize  a  distinct  tinge  of  familiarity 
in  the  notes,  but  when  I  came  to  the  question  of  locating  the 
singer  I  was  utterly  without  a  clew.  I  knew  well  enough 
that  there  was  no  earthly  voice  which  could  enter  into  the 
comparison,  and  so  I  need  waste  no  time  in  going  over  that 
part  of  my  life.  But  I  had  heard  no  singing  of  any  kind  in 
Mars  before  this  night.  How  was  it  possible  that  I  could 
have  experienced  that  delightful  sensation  before  and  not  be 
able  to  fix  the  place  or  time?  It  was  a  puzzling  question, 
but  I  refused  to  give  it  up.  I  knew  the  song,  and  the 
memory  of  it  warmed  my  heart  with  each  recurring  flash, 
but  the  singer  I  did  not  know. 


A    NIGHT    ADVENTURE.  I25 

At  length  I  fell  asleep,  and  woke  to  find  the  sun  of  Mars 
shining  pleasantly  upon  my  bed.  I  recalled  at  once  the 
experience  of  the  night  and  confirmed  my  memory  by  find- 
ing on  the  desk  the  paper  I  had  written,  and  still  there  was 
enough  suspicion  in  my  mind  of  the  reality  of  the  whole 
thing  to  make  me  anxious  to  know  if  the  doctor  had  heard 
what  had  so  impressed  me.  But  on  going  to  find  him  I 
discovered  that  he  had  left  his  room,  and  so  it  happened 
that  we  did  not  meet  till  the  family  came  together  in  the 
morning  reception-room,  in  preparation  for  breakfast.  Here 
Proctor  presented  us  to  his  wife,  Fronda,  and  his  daughters, 
two  stately  girls,  whom  he  did  not  name.  Thorwald  and 
Zenith  kindly  helped  the  doctor  and  me  to  answer  the  many 
questions  which  these  new  friends  were  so  eager  to  ask,  so 
that,  as  breakfast  proceeded,  all  became  engaged  in  the 
conversation.  My  own  mind,  however,  was  somewhat 
preoccupied.  I  thought  perhaps  Thorwald  might  be  in 
haste  to  depart  for  home,  and  I  was  determined  not  to  let 
the  company  separate  till  I  had  made  an  attempt  to  dis- 
cover who  my  midnight  singer  was.  So,  when  there  came 
a  convenient  lull  in  the  talk,  I  made  bold  to  say: 

"  Can  anyone  present  tell  me  who  it  was  that  woke  me 
in  the  night  '  with  concord  of  sweet  sounds  '  ?  " 

A  general  smile  passed  around  the  table  at  this  question, 
while  Fronda  looked  at  me  and  said  pleasantly : 

"  It  must  have  been  Avis.  She  is  very  fond  of  singing 
and  considers  all  hours  her  own.  I  hope  it  did  not  disturb 
your  slumbers." 

"  It  was  no  disturbance,  I  assure  you.  But  is  Avis  present  ? 
I  should  like  to  thank  her  for  the  great  pleasure  she  gave 
me." 

'*  No,"  replied  Fronda,  "  she  took  an  early  breakfast  and 
started  out  for  a  long  walk." 


126  DAYBREAK. 

"  Then  I  may  as  well  tell  you  all  about  it,"  I  said. 

And  I  related  my  dream  and  then  read  to  them  all  the 
paper  I  had  written.  Everyone  listened  with  the  greatest 
eagerness  and  showed  more  interest,  I  thought,  than  the 
circumstances  as  I  had  related  them  called  for,  but  I  after- 
wards learned  that  they  had  excellent  reasons  for  it. 

When  breakfast  was  over  I  was  glad  to  find  that  Thorwald 
seemed  to  be  in  no  haste  to  go  home.  I  began  to  feel  an 
intense  longing  to  see  Avis,  and  I  had  planned,  if  Thorwald 
should  insist  on  leaving  too  soon,  to  propose  to  Proctor 
that  I  would  stay  a  few  days  and  assist  him  in  the  observa- 
tory. 

The  doctor  and  I  soon  found  an  opportunity  to  speak 
together  privately,  and  he  began  : 

"  So  the  voice  of  Avis  was  a  little  familiar  to  you?  " 

"  Yes,"  I  replied,  "  but  I  am  not  able  to  tell  from  what 
niche  in  memory's  hall  it  comes." 

"  Does  it  recall  anything  you  heard  or  saw  on  the 
moon?  " 

"  That  dreadful  place?  No,  indeed,"  I  replied.  "  Are 
you  going  to  bring  up  Mona  again?  " 

"  You  asked  me  never  to  mention  that  name  again,  and 
now  you  have  spoken  it." 

"  Well,"  I  asked,  "  will  you  forgive  me  for  that  foolish 
request  if  I  will  let  you  talk  to  me  about  her  now  ?  " 

"I  am  not  anxious  to  talk  about  her,"  the  doctor 
answered,  "  especially  as  I  know  the  topic  is  not  a  pleasant 
one  to  you." 

Without  noticing  this  last  remark,  I  asked  abruptly : 

"  Was  Mona  a  good  singer?  " 

"Fair." 

"  As  good  as  Avis?  " 

"  I  think  so,  though  I  am  not  a  critic." 


A    NIGHT    ADVENTURE.  I27 

"  Did  I  understand  you  to  say  she  was  handsome?  " 

"Beautiful." 

"  And  I  fell  in  love  with  her?  " 

"  You  had  all  the  symptoms.  But  why  do  you  insist  on 
talking  on  such  a  disagreeable  subject?  Come,  let's  go  and 
find  Proctor." 

"  Wait.     One  question  more.     Have  you  seen  Avis?  " 

"Yes." 

"Who  is  she?" 

"  I  believe  she  is  a  friend  of  the  family  merely." 

"  Does  she  live  here?  " 

"  She  is  staying  here  for  the  present." 

"  Is  she  beautiful,  too?  " 

"  I  shall  leave  you  to  be  your  own  judge  of  that  when  you 
see  her.     Now,  not  another  question." 

"  Well,"  I  said,  as  we  started  to  find  some  of  the  others, 
"  if  the  Mona  of  your  imagination  gives  you  as  much  pleas- 
ure as  Avis  has  given  me  before  I  have  seen  her,  I  do  not 
wonder  that  you  cherish  her  memory." 

This  conversation  left  me  still  more  anxious  to  see  Avis, 
and  I  looked  for  her  return  every  moment,  but  the  morning 
passed  and  finally  the  day  wore  to  its  close  without  bringing 
us  together.  I  didnot.like  to  make  my  strong  desire  known 
by  asking  after  her,  and,  besides,  I  began  to  have  a  slight 
suspicion  that  there  was  some  design  in  keeping  us  from 
meeting. 

When  it  was  time  to  retire  that  night  I  took  the  doctor  to 
my  room,  and  I  think  it  was  a  surprise  to  both  of  us  when 
we  fell  to  talking  about  Mona  again.  At  my  request  the 
doctor  related  at  considerable  length  our  experience  on  the 
moon,  as  he  remembered  it,  and  set  Mona  out  in  most 
attractive  style.  I  let  him  go  on,  without  laughing  at  him 
as  I  had  formerly  done,  and  the  longer  he  talked  the  more 


128  UAYDREAK. 

serious  and  thoughtful  I  became.  As  he  told  the  details  of 
our  daily  life,  recalling  many  of  Mona's  words  and  actions, 
a  new  thought  flashed  through  my  mind — the  thought  that 
possibly  the  doctor  was  right  after  all.  At  that  instant, 
when  my  interest  was  most  intense,  once  more  the  distant 
echoes  of  that  happy  song  fell  upon  my  ear. 

That  was  the  magic  influence  needed  for  my  restoration. 
At  once,  and  all  at  once,  down  fell  the  walls  that  had  so 
unhappily  obscured  my  mental  vision,  and  left  my  memory 
clear  as  day.  I  jumped  from  my  seat,  seized  the  doctor's 
hand,  and  exclaimed  : 

"  I  see  it  all  now,  old  fellow.  You  were  right  and  I  was 
the  crazy  one." 

"  Good,  I  rejoice  with  you." 

With  that  voice  coming  nearer  and  pouring  its  melody 
upon  us,  we  could  not  say  more  at  the  time.  I  threw  my- 
self into  a  chair,  let  my  head  fall  back,  and  closed  my 
eyes  to  enjoy  it.  The  doctor,  feeling  it  to  be  better  to 
let  me  think  it  out  by  myself,  stole  away  and  left  me  alone. 

Alone,  but  not  lonesome,  for  was  not  Mona  with  me?  I 
could  see  her  every  look  and  motion,  and  experienced  with 
a  great  throb  of  the  heart  that  my  love  had  only  strengthened 
with  my  period  of  forgetfulness.  I  remembered  her  last 
words,  that  very  likely  we  would  never  see  her  again.  But 
why  should  not  she  be  saved  as  easily  as  we  were?  What  if 
she  were  even  now  afloat  in  the  ocean?  But  perhaps  some 
one  had  rescued  her.  Could  she  be  in  Mars  and  singing 
for  other  ears  than  mine?  Singing  !  Why,  who  is  singing 
now,  right  here  in  this  very  house?  Can  it  be  possible? 
How  stupid  I  have  been.     Perhaps  I  can  see  her  now. 

I  jumped  up  and  rushed  from  the  room,  but  was  no  sooner 
outside  my  door  than  the  voice  began  to  die  again,  and  in 
a  moment  the  last  notes  had  floated  away.     I  could  not 


A    NIGHT    ADVENTURE.  I29 

determine  from  which  direction  the  song  had  come  and  had 
no  clew  to  guide  me  toward  the  singer.  It  was  very  late 
and  all  the  house  was  quiet.  Unable  to  pursue  my  quest,  I 
reentered  my  room,  but  it  was  hours  before  I  could  com- 
pose my  mind  sufificiently  to  sleep.  The  possible  joy  that 
awaited  me  in  the  morning,  the  dreadful  fear  that  I  should 
be  disappointed,  the  violent  beating  of  my  heart  at  every 
thought  of  Mona,  and  my  anxiety  lest  she  might  even  now 
be  exposed  to  danger  somewhere,  all  combined  to  keep  me 
excited  and  restless  the  whole  night  long.  As  I  lay  tossing 
and  thinking,  my  most  serious  doubt  was  occasioned  by  the 
reflection  that  people  of  such  exalted  morals  would  not 
deceive  me  by  declaring  that  this  singer's  name  was  Avis 
if  it  were  not  true.  But  then  I  thought  further  that  the 
doctor  had  given  Mona  the  name  by  which  we  knew  her, 
and  that  Fronda  would  have  just  as  much  right  to  give  her 
a  new  name.     Perhaps  her  real  name  after  all  was  Avis. 

When  the  welcome  morning  came  I  found  the  doctor  and 
gave  him  a  hearty  grasp  to  show  him  that  there  had  been  no 
lapse  in  my  mental  condition,  but  I  asked  him  to  say  nothing 
to  Thorwald  just  at  present  about  my  recovery.  Then  we 
hurried  down  to  the  reception-room  and,  early  as  it  was, 
found  most  of  the  household  already  there.  After  looking 
eagerly  around  and  seeing  only  those  whom  I  had  pre- 
viously met,  I  inquired,  with  as  little  apparent  concern  as 
possible  : 

"  Hasn't  Avis  appeared?  I  thought  she  was  an  early 
riser." 

To  which  Fronda  quickly  replied  : 

"  Oh,  Avis  was  up  half  an  hour  ago,  and  asked  me  to 
excuse  her  to  the  company,  saying  she  was  going  to  spend 
the  morning  with  a  friend  she  met  yesterday." 

This  was  a  hard  blow  for  me,  and  it  was  with  difficulty 
9 


130  DAYBREAK. 

that  I  restrained  my  impatience,  but  I  was  a  little  consoled 
with  the  idea  that  the  morning  only  was  to  be  consumed  by 
this  visit,  and  that  we  might  look  for  a  return  by  noon. 

After  breakfast,  when  Proctor  had  gone  to  the  observatory 
and  Fronda  and  her  daughters  were  showing  Zenith  about 
the  house,  the  doctor  begged  Thorwald  to  resume  the  talk 
begim  on  board  the  ship,  which  had  been  intemipted  by  the 
discovery  of  land.  As  Thorwald  expressed  a  willingness  to 
comply,  the  doctor  continued  : 

'*  You  were  trying  to  convince  me  of  the  probability  of 
life  in  other  worlds  besides  the  earth  and  Mars,  and  in  your 
attempt  to  show  a  likeness  between  the  earth  and  other 
parts  of  the  universe,  you  were  speaking  on  the  interesting 
subject  of  meteorites." 

"  I  remember,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  I  was  just  asking 
you  what  theory  you  of  the  earth  hold  on  that  important 
topic." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 


AN    UNLIKELY    STORY. 


"  If  the  doctor,"  I  said,  "  will  pardon  me,  I  will  say,  in 
relation  to  the  origin  of  meteorites,  that  our  scientific  men 
have  held  from  time  to  time  many  different  theories. 
Some  have  believed  that  they  are  aggregations  of  metallic 
vapors  which,  meeting  in  the  atmosphere,  solidify  there 
and  fall,  just  as  watery  vapors  solidify  and  come  down  in 
the  form  of  hailstones.  Others  have  held  that  they  are 
thrown  out  from  the  center  of  the  earth  by  volcanic  action ; 
and  others  still  that  they  all  came  from  the  moon  when  her 
volcanoes  were  active.  These  latter  theories  imply  that  the 
meteorites  in  immense  quantities  are  revolving  around  the 
earth,  and  that  occasionally  they  become  entangled  in  her 
atmosphere  and  fall  to  the  surface. 

"  And  now,  Thorwald,  I  am  tempted  to  repay  all  your 
great  kindness  to  us  with  an  act  of  ingratitude,  nothing  less 
than  the  relation  of  a  story." 

This  rather  foolhardy  speech  of  mine  made  the  doctor 
wince,  and  I  am  not  sure  but  he  began  to  fear  that  my  mind 
was  weakening  in  a  new  direction.  But  I  had  my  own 
excuse  for  my  action,  which  I  felt  that  I  could  explain  to 
him  at  some  future  time.  The  fact  is,  I  was  so  disturbed 
in  my  mind  about  Monaandwas  anticipating  so  much  from 
meeting  the  so-called  Avis,  that  I  thought  I  could  never  sit 
still  all  the  morning  and  listen  to  a  dry  scientific  discus- 


132  DAYBREAK. 

sion.  It  seemed  to  me  that  I  could  stand  it  better  if  I 
could  do  part  of  the  talking  myself,  and  so  I  took  advantage 
of  the  subject  before  us  to  propose  relating  an  extravagant 
tale  that  I  once  had  heard. 

In  contrast  with  the  doctor's  frowns,  Thorwald  showed  a 
lively  appreciation  and  insisted  that  I  should  be  heard. 

"  Not  another  word  from  me,"  he  said,  "  till  we  have 
had  the  story." 

With  such  encouragement,  it  was  easy  for  me  to  proceed. 

"  I  fear  you  will  be  disappointed,"  I  said,  "  for  what  I 
have  rashly  called  a  story  is  only  a  fancy  founded  on  the 
idea  that  the  meteorites  were  at  some  time  shot  out  of  the 
volcanoes  of  the  moon.  I  had  it  from  a  friend  of  mine, 
whose  mind  is  evidently  more  open  to  the  notion  of  life  in 
other  worlds  than  is  that  of  my  companion  here.  As  the 
story  was  written  long  before  the  moon  came  down  to  visit 
the  people  of  the  earth  in  their  own  home,  the  writer  did 
not  have  the  advantage  of  the  discoveries  made  by  the 
doctor  and  myself,  and  it  is  well  for  me  that  the  doctor's 
friend,  Mona,  is  not  here  to  disprove  any  of  my  statements. 

"  On  account  of  the  smaller  volume  of  the  moon,  the 
attraction  of  gravitation  on  its  surface  is  only  one-quarter 
that  of  the  earth,  and  it  is  estimated  that,  if  a  projectile 
were  hurled  from  the  moon  with  two  or  three  times  the 
velocity  of  a  cannon  ball,  it  would  pass  entirely  beyond  her 
attraction  and  be  drawn  to  the  earth,  reaching  it  at  the  rate 
of  some  seven  miles  a  second. 

"  Now  we  all  know — this  is  the  way  the  story  runs — that 
the  moon  was  once  inhabited  by  a  highly  intelligent  race. 
They  tell  us  it  is  a  cold,  dead  world  now,  not  at  all  fit  for 
inhabitants.  But  that  is  because  its  day  is  passed.  Being 
so  much  smaller  than  the  earth  it  cooled  off  quicker,  and 
its  life-bearing  period  long  since  found  its  end.     Men  have 


AN    UNLIKELY    STORY.  I33 

often  speculated  on  the  idea  that  our  race  will  one  day  fail 
and  the  time  come  when  the  last  generation  shall  pass  away 
and  leave  the  earth  a  bare  and  ugly  thing,  to  continue  yet 
longer  its  lonely,  weary  journey  around  a  failing  sun.  That 
day  the  moon  has  seen.  That  direful  fate  the  race  of  moon 
men  have  experienced.  Some  poor  being,  the  last  of  his 
kind,  was  left  sole  monarch  of  a  dying  world,  and  with  the 
moon  all  before  him  where  to  choose,  chose  rather  to  die 
with  the  rest  and  leave  his  world  to  cold  and  darkness. 

"  From  our  own  experience  we  do  not  know  how  high  a 
state  of  civilization  can  be  reached  by  giving  a  race  all  the 
time  that  is  needed.  But  we  know  that  before  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  moon  passed  off  the  stage  they  had  attained 
to  the  highest  possible  degree  of  intelligence.  They  began 
existence  at  a  very  low  plane,  developed  gradually  through 
long  periods  of  time — there  has  never  been  any  haste  in  these 
matters — and  when  they  had  reached  their  maturity  as  a 
race  of  intellectual  and  moral  beings,  primitive  man  was 
just  beginning  on  the  vast  undertaking  of  subduing  the  earth, 
a  task  not  yet  accomplished. 

"  The  incident  I  propose  to  relate  occurred  in  antedilu- 
vian times,  when  there  were  giants  in  the  earth  who  lived  a 
thousand  years.  Then  matter  reigned,  not  mind.  It  was 
the  age  of  brawn.  Everything  material  existed  on  a  gigan- 
tic scale,  and  man's  architectural  works,  rude  in  design  but 
well  adapted  for  shelter  and  protection,  were  proportioned 
to  his  own  stature  and  rivaled  the  everlasting  hills  in  size 
and  solidity.  And  they  needed  something  substantial  for 
protection,  for  war  was  their  business  and  their  pastime. 
They  lived  for  nothing  but  to  fight.  It  was  brother  against 
brother,  neighbor  against  neighbor,  tribe  against  tribe; 
and  the  man  who  could  not  fight,  and  fight  hard,  had  no 
excuse  for  living.     War  was  not  an  art,  but  a  natural  out- 


134  DAYBREAK. 

burst  of  bruta!  instincts.  A  giant  glories  in  his  strength  and 
cultivates  it  as  naturally  as  a  bird  its  song.  But  it  is  pleas- 
ant to  consider  the  fact  that  as  man's  mental  and  moral 
qualities  have  developed  his  body  has  become  smaller.  As 
the  necessity  for  that  immense  physical  strength  gradually 
passed  away,  nature,  abhorring  such  unnecessary  waste  of 
material,  applied  to  us  her  inexorable  laws  whereby  a  thing 
or  a  state  of  things  no  longer  useful  slowly  fades  away,  and 
our  bodies  accommodated  themselves  to  new  conditions. 

"  But  in  those  early  times  men  needed  great  physical 
strength  and  long  life  to  bring  the  world  into  subjection, 
and  until  that  was  done  they  could  give  little  attention  to 
the  cultivation  of  the  finer  qualities  of  their  incipient  man- 
hood. They  were  handicapped  by  the  fact  that  the  lower 
animals  had  had  the  earth  to  themselves  a  few  million  years, 
more  or  less,  and  no  puny  race  could  ever  have  driven 
them  to  the  wall. 

"  At  length,  when  the  conflict  was  well  nigh  over,  with 
victory  in  sight,  men  had  abandoned  the  struggle  and  were 
using  all  their  fierce  strength  in  fighting  each  other.  This 
had  been  going  on  so  long  and  with  such  deadly  results 
that  it  seemed  as  if  the  race  must  be  exterminated  unless 
some  superior  power  could  step  in  from  the  outside  and 
prevent  it. 

"  We  can  easily  understand  that  there  was  no  such  thing 
as  science  then.  Men  considered  the  sun,  for  example, 
only  as  a  very  useful  thing  which  brought  them  light  with 
which  they  could  see  their  foe,  and  the  moon  as  a  mysteri- 
ous object  sent  to  make  the  night  a  little  less  dark.  Sun 
and  moon  and  shining  stars  were  all  set  in  the  sky  for  them, 
and  went  through  their  wonderful  and  complicated  move- 
ments solely  for  their  amusement. 

"  But  what  was  the  real  condition  of  things  on  the  moon 


AN    UNLIKELY    STORY.  I35 

at  that  time?  Why,  there  was  a  race  of  people  there  of 
such  intelligence  and  scientific  attainments  that  they  were 
seeing  plainly  enough  everything  that  was  taking  place  on 
the  earth.  This  will  not  appear  very  strange  when  we  con- 
sider our  remarkable  success  in  scanning  the  surface  of  the 
moon  at  the  present  day,  and  remember  that  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  moon  were  then  nearing  the  close  of  their  his- 
tory, and  so  at  the  height  of  their  civilization. 

"  Yes,  they  had  watched  the  coming  of  man  upon  the 
stage  with  the  deepest  interest — with  a  neighborly  interest, 
in  fact — seeing  in  him  the  promise  of  a  companion  race 
and  one  worthy  of  the  magnificent  globe  which  they  could 
see  was  so  much  larger  than  their  own.  Their  powerful 
instruments  enabled  them  to  see  objects  on  the  earth  as  dis- 
tinctly as  we  now  see  through  our  telescopes  the  features 
of  a  landscape  a  few  miles  distant, 

"  Keeping  thus  so  close  an  acquaintance  with  man  and 
all  his  works,  they  rejoiced  at  every  success  he  achieved 
over  the  lower  forms  of  life,  and  grieved  at  all  his  failures. 
Especially  were  they  pained  when  he  tired  of  the  conflict 
with  his  natural  foe,  and  began  to  battle  with  his  own  kind. 
As  this  inhuman  strife  continued,  the  folly  and  wickedness 
of  it  roused  to  the  fullest  extent  the  interest  and  sympathy 
of  the  moon-dwellers,  and  they  began  to  ask  each  other 
what  they  could  do  to  put  a  stop  to  it.  They  themselves 
had  long  since  given  up  war  and  had  even  outgro\\Ti  all 
individual  quarrels,  and  they  could  not  endure  with  patience 
what  was  then  taking  place  right  under  their  eyes.  But 
they  found  it  easier  to  declaim  against  the  evil  than  to 
suggest  any  practical  method  of  stopping  it.  Although  so 
near  them  in  one  sense,  to  the  other  senses  the  field  of  con- 
flict was  some  two  hundred  and  forty  thousand  miles  away. 

*'  However,  of  what  value  is  a  high  state  of  civilization 


136  DAYBREAK. 

if  it  cannot  help  a  neighboring  world  in  such  an  emergency 
as  this?  If  they  could  only  communicate  in  some  way  with 
men  they  could  soon  make  them  understand  that  it  would 
be  better  for  them  to  cease  their  fighting  and  finish  their 
legitimate  work  of  subduing  the  lower  forms  of  creation. 
But  how  to  open  communication  !  The  problem  long  re- 
mained unsolved,  the  condition  of  things  on  the  earth  in 
the  meantime  growing  worse  and  worse.  At  last  it  was 
suggested  that  a  shot  might  be  fired  which  would  reach  the 
earth.  This  was  a  bold  suggestion,  but  it  was  well  known 
that  they  had  explosives  powerful  enough  to  carry  a  pro- 
jectile beyond  the  moon's  attraction,  and  no  one  could  give 
any  good  reason  why  such  a  projectile,  being  entirely  free 
of  the  moon,  should  not  reach  the  earth  under  the  power  of 
gravitation.  It  was  determined  to  try  the  experiment,  and 
after  due  preparation,  which  was  comparatively  easy  with 
their  facilities,  an  enormous  shot  was  hurled  forth.  It  was 
large  enough  to  be  seen  by  the  aid  of  their  powerful  tele- 
scopes as  it  sped  on  its  way,  and  it  was  with  intense  inter- 
est that  they  saw  it  enter  the  earth's  attraction  and  finally 
strike  the  surface  of  that  globe.  Now  that  so  much  had 
been  accomplished,  they  saw  immense  possibilities  before 
them.  What  they  now  wanted  to  do  was  to  use  their  dis- 
covery to  make  men  give  up  their  fighting  and  turn  to  the 
arts  of  peace. 

"  How  could  they  do  this?  Some  proposed  that  they 
should  make  hollow  shot,  fill  them  with  Bibles  and  other 
books,  and  bombard  the  earth  with  good  precepts  till  men 
should  learn  and  be  tamed.  But  from  their  close  observa- 
tion of  mankind  the  moon-dwellers  knew  they  were  too 
uncivilized  to  get  any  good  from  books,  and  that  they  cer- 
tainly could  not  learn  without  a  teacher.  Hence  arose  the 
suggestion  that  missionaries  be  sent  in  place  of  books.     As 


AN    UNLIKELY    STORY.  I37 

soon  as  this  idea  was  broached  thousands  of  volunteers 
offered  themselves,  and  the  plan  would  certainly  have  been 
attempted  if  there  had  been  the  slightest  possibility  that 
one  could  live  to  reach  the  earth. 

"  The  next  proposal  came  from  the  medical  profession. 
Long  before  this  time,  when  the  inhabitants  of  the  moon 
were  sometimes  governed  by  their  passions  and  before  the 
day  of  peace  and  good  will  had  fully  arrived,  it  had  been 
discovered  that  what  was  known  as  the  pugnacious  instinct 
was  only  a  disease,  bad  blood  in  fact  as  well  as  in  name, 
and  a  remedy  had  been  found  for  it.  This  was  nothing 
less  than  the  bi-chloride  of  comet.  Small  comets,  such  as 
we  call  meteorites,  were  picked  up  on  the  surface  of  the 
moon  and  put  to  this  practical  use.  This  medicine,  admin- 
istered as  an  hypodermic  injection,  produced  wonderful 
effects,  the  patient,  although  afflicted  with  the  most  quar- 
relsome disposition,  becoming  as  mild  and  harmless  as  a 
lamb.  However  warlike  one  might  be,  a  few  days'  treat- 
ment would  take  the  fightingspirit  out  of  him  so  completely 
that  the  mere  doubling  up  his  fists  and  placing  them  in 
front  of  his  face  would  make  him  feel  ill.  Peace  societies 
got  hold  of  the  remedy  and  tried  it  on  the  soldiers  of  the 
standing  armies  with  such  success  that  war  had  to  be  aban- 
doned because  the  men  would  not  fight. 

"  And  now  the  old  recipe  was  brought  out,  a  large  quan- 
tity of  the  medicine  manufactured,  and  bombs  made  and 
filled  with  it,  each  one  containing  full  directions  for  its  use 
written  in  Volapiik.  These  were  fired  to  the  earth,  and, 
strange  to  say,  the  simple  language  was  soon  learned,  and 
the  moon-dwellers  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  men  rapidly 
metamorphosed  into  a  peaceable,  friendly  race.  Thus  the 
moon  directly  influenced  and  governed  affairs  on  the  earth. 
Looked  at  from  that  distance   it  seems  to  have  been  the 


138  DAYBREAK. 

most  remarkable  case  of  the  tail  wagging  the  dog  that  the 
earth  had  ever  seen. 

"  But  we  may  as  well  relate  the  sequel.  The  effect  of 
the  treatment  lasted  only  a  few  hundred  years,  and  as  it 
was  the  moon's  policy  never  to  repeat  a  cure,  men  in  time 
became  as  bad  as  ever  again,  and  so  at  last  the  flood  had  to 
come  and  wipe  them  off  the  face  of  the  earth." 


CHAPTER  XVII. 


THE    DOCTOR    IS   CONVINCED. 


As  I  finished  tlie  doctor  looked  somewhat  bored,  but 
Thorwald  was  kind  enougli  to  thank  me,  and  then,  at  our 
earnest  solicitation,  he  resumed  his  argument. 

"  You  have  told  me,"  he  said,  "  of  some  of  your  earlier 
beliefs  about  the  origin  of  meteorites.  Have  you  any  more 
modern  views?  " 

To  this  the  doctor  replied  :  "  If  my  friend  here  has  really 
finished  talking  for  a  while  I  will  say,  Thonvald,  that  the 
theories  already  spoken  of  seem  to  be  disproved  by  the  dis- 
covery that  these  stones  enter  the  earth's  atmosphere  with  a 
planetary  velocity.  A  body  falling  from  an  infinite  dis- 
tance— that  is,  impelled  only  by  the  attraction  of  gravita- 
tion— would  strike  the  earth  with  a  velocity  of  only  six  or 
seven  miles  a  second,  while  the  meteorites  come  at  the  rate 
of  twenty  to  thirty  miles  a  second,  the  earth's  rate  of  revo- 
lution being  nineteen  miles  in  the  same  time.  It  is  found 
that  a  necessary  consequence  of  these  velocities  is  that  the 
meteors  move  about  the  sun,  and  not  the  earth,  as  the  con- 
trolling body.  Our  latest  study  points  to  the  conclusion 
that  they  are  of  cometary  origin,  and,  as  comets  have  been 
known  to  divide,  some  scientists  believe  the  meteorites  are 
fragments    of   exploded  comets.      At   any    rate,    they   are 


140  DAYBREAK. 

found  in  the  company  of  these  mysterious  bodies,  and  ap- 
pear to  have  similarly  eccentric  orbits." 

"  Your  studies  are  leading  you  in  the  right  direction," 
said  Thonvald.  "  The  meteorites  do  indeed  come  from 
the  regions  of  space,  and  if  they  have  any  story  to  tell  it  is 
a  story  of  those  distant  parts  of  the  universe  about  which 
any  testimony  is  valuable.  Let  us  look  again  at  the  frag- 
ment we  are  supposed  to  hold  in  our  hand.  Can  we  tell 
of  what  it  is  composed,  or  is  its  substance  something  en- 
tirely new?  I  am  sure  you  must  have  analyzed  it  down  to 
its  minutest  particle,  and  if  so  you  have  found  it  contains 
nothing  foreign  to  the  earth.  There  is  not  a  single  element 
in  the  meteorite  that  does  not  exist  also  in  the  crust  of  the 
earth.  Tell  me,  Doctor,  how  many  elements  have  you  dis- 
covered in  them?  " 

"  Nearly  thirty,"  answered  the  doctor.  "  And  one  inter- 
esting fact  is,  that  the  three  elements  most  common  in  the 
earth — iron,  silicon,  and  oxygen — are  also  found  most 
widely  distributed  among  the  meteorites." 

"That  is  an  exceedingly  significant  fact,"  said  Thor- 
wald;  "  and  now  do  you  not  see  how  strongly  the  meteor- 
ites confirm  the  story  of  the  spectrum,  and  how  everything 
tells  us  the  universe  is  one  in  its  physical  structure?  By 
these  two  widely  different  sources  of  information  you  find 
that  beyond  doubt  other  heavenly  bodies  are  made  of  like 
materials  with  the  earth.  Is  it  not  time  now  to  give  your 
imagination  just  a  moment's  play  and  look  upon  some  of 
those  distant  orbs  as  the  probable  abode  of  life?  " 

"There  I  cannot  follow  you,"  responded  the  doctor. 
"  I  am  wanting  in  imagination ;  probably  born  so,  as  some 
people  are  born  without  an  ear  for  music.  Let  us  stick  to 
facts.  Among  the  recent  discoveries  in  the  field  of  which 
we  have  been  talking  was  the  finding  of  some  small  dia- 


THE    DOCTOR    IS    CONVINCED.  14I 

monds  in  a  meteoric  mass.  Upon  this  some  enthusiastic 
writer,  whose  imaginative  soul  would  be  your  delight,  Thor- 
wald,  built  this  argument :  '  Diamonds  being  pure  carbon, 
their  existence  necessitates  a  previous  vegetable  growth. 
Hence  vegetable  life  in  other  worlds  is  proven,  and  if  vege- 
table life,  it  is  fair  to  presume  the  existence  of  animal  life 
also.  Of  course,  then,  there  must  be  intelligent  life,  and 
therefore  the  stars,  or  the  planets  that  revolve  around  the 
stars,  are  all  filled  with  men.'  This  I  call  not  reasoning, 
but  guessing." 

"  And  still,"  quickly  responded  Thorwald,  ''  the  discov- 
ery of  diamonds  in  meteorites  was  a  valuable  link  in  the 
chain  of  evidence  which  you  are  putting  together.  Keep 
on  with  your  investigations.  Some  time  positive  knowledge 
will  come  to  you  as  it  has  come  to  us.  But  let  me  appeal 
once  more  to  your  reason.  At  an  earlier  stage  of  develop- 
ment your  race  no  doubt  believed  the  earth  was  the  center 
of  the  universe,  around  which  all  the  heavenly  bodies  swept 
in  magnificent  circles.  You  have  learned  that  the  earth 
itself,  which  was  formerly  thought  to  be  so  important  an 
object,  is  only  one  of  those  heavenly  bodies  flying  through 
space.  You  find  the  earth  resembles  its  nearest  compan- 
ions in  being  subject  to  the  same  laws  of  motion  which 
govern  them,  but  you  have  yet  to  learn  that  they  resemble 
the  earth  in  the  main  purpose  of  their  creation.  You  go 
into  the  forest  and  see  thousands  of  trees.  You  can  find  no 
two  alike,  and  yet  all  are  alike  in  every  material  resi^ect. 
Even  the  myriads  of  leaves  are  all  difl^erent,  and  yet  all 
alike.  So  why  may  not  the  millions  of  stars  that  fill  the 
sky  be  like  our  own  sun  and  like  each  other,  differing  in 
such  immaterial  things  as  size  and  brilliancy,  color  and 
constitution,  but  alike  in  the  chief  object  of  their  being, 
the  giving  of  light  and  heat,  as  vivifying  forces  to  dark 


142  DAYBREAK. 

bodies  surrounding  them?  And  why  may  not  these  planets 
resemble  the  earth  in  being,  at  some  stage  of  their  exist- 
ence, the  theater  of  God's  great  designs? 

"  Let  me  try  to  excite  your  imagination  in  another  way, 
Doctor.  Suppose  you  should  by  and  by  awake  and  find 
this  visit  to  Mars  only  a  dream,  and  then  suppose  it  should 
be  revealed  to  you  in  some  superhuman  way  that  man  was 
indeed  the  only  race  of  intelligent  beings  in  the  whole  uni- 
verse ;  that  the  other  planets  and  all  the  stars  were  of  no 
real  use  ;  that  not  one  world  from  that  vast  region  of  the 
milky  way  and  far  distant  nebulae  would  ever  send  forth 
a  note  of  praise  to  its  Creator,  and  that  the  tiny  earth  was, 
after  all,  the  center  and  sum  of  the  universe — tell  me, 
would  you  not  feel  lonesome?  " 

"  When  you  put  it  in  that  way,  Thorwald,"  replied  the 
doctor,  "  I  begin  to  see  how  unreasonable  my  position 
must  appear  to  you.  But,  however  pleasant  the  idea,  I  do 
not  see  how  I  can  believe  that  other  worlds  are  inhabited 
without  more  evidence  than  we  now  possess.  This  is  speak- 
ing, of  course,  without  the  knowledge  we  have  gained  since 
coming  here.  But  I  do  not  mind  saying  that  your  talk  has 
made  me  wish  I  could  believe  it." 

I  was  glad  for  several  reasons  that  the  doctor  acknowl- 
edged as  much  as  this.  First,  for  Thorwald's  sake  ;  for  I 
had  been  thinking  the  doctor's  obduracy  was  proving  a  poor 
reward  for  our  friend's  great  kindness  to  us.  I  rejoiced, 
too,  that  my  companion  was  beginning  to  show  our  new 
acquaintance  that,  although  he  had  little  imagination,  he 
was  possessed  of  a  good  heart.  And,  finally,  I  was  myself  so 
much  in  sympathy  with  Thorwald's  views  that  I  was  glad  to 
see  his  arguments  begin  to  make  some  impression  on  the 
doctor's  mind. 

But  now  it  seemed  to  me  that  Thorwald  had  much  to  tell 


THE    DOCTOR    IS    CONVINCED.  I43 

US  from  his  own  experience.  He  had  talked  so  far  on  this 
subject  from  the  standpoint  of  our  earthly  knowledge,  but 
had  hinted  more  than  once  that  the  inhabitants  of  Mars  had 
more  positive  evidence  than  we  had  ever  dreamed  could  be 
possible.     So  I  said  : 

"  Your  arguments  have  been  very  acceptable  to  me,  Thor- 
wald,  but  can  you  not  strengthen  even  my  faith  by  speaking 
now  from  the  results  of  your  own  more  advanced  studies? 
We  must  base  our  belief  in  the  existence  of  life  outside  the 
earth  on  mere  probabilities,  which,  however  strong,  lead 
only  to  theory  and  leave  us  still  in  doubt.  Have  you  any 
certain  knowledge  on  the  subject,  or,  I  might  say,  had  you 
any  before  we  came  to  see  you  ?  ' ' 

"Oh,  yes,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  we  have  long  had  evi- 
dence almost  as  positive  as  your  presence  here,  fresh  from 
one  of  our  sister  planets.  It  will  give  me  great  pleasure  to 
tell  you  of  some  of  our  mar\-elous  achievements  in  astronomy. 
The  doctor  says  he  would  like  to  believe  in  the  habitability 
of  other  worlds  ;  he  must  believe  in  it  before  I  am  through 
if  he  has  any  faith  in  me. 

"  I  would  like  to  say,  to  begin  with,  that  whatever  we 
have  accomplished  in  this  science  you  on  the  earth  can 
accomplish.  I  know  enough  by  comparing  your  develop- 
ment with  our  own  to  feel  sure  that  our  present  condition 
foreshadows  yours,  and  that  all  the  knowledge  we  possess  in 
various  directions  will  come  in  time  to  you.  Let  nothing 
discourage  you  in  your  quest  for  knowledge.  If  you  seem 
to  have  arrived  at  the  limit  of  possibilities  in  the  telescope, 
for  example,  have  patience.  Difificulties  which  you  think 
insurmountable,  time  will  remove,  and  you  will  be  able  to 
penetrate  more  and  more  into  the  mysteries  of  the  imiverse. 

"  Our  telescopes  have  gradually  increased  in  power  until 
we  have  been  able  to  accomplish  things  that  you  will  no 


144  DAYBREAK. 

doubt  think  truly  marvelous.  But,  before  you  call  any 
achievement  in  this  science  impossible,  just  look  back  and 
compare  the  ignorance  of  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  earth 
with  your  present  knowledge ;  aild  do  not  be  so  proud  of 
the  wisdom  already  attained  that  you  cannot  also  look  for- 
ward to  an  enlarged  comprehension  of  things  you  now  call 
mysteries,  and  to  a  much  closer  acquaintance  with  the  works 
of  God. 

"  To  our  increasing  vision  the  heavens  have  continued  to 
unfold  their  wonders.  We  have  penetrated  far  into  the 
depths  of  space  only  to  marvel,  at  each  new  revelation,  at 
the  power  and  wisdom  of  the  Creator.  The  number  of  stars 
discovered  to  our  view  would  be  incredible  to  you,  and  yet 
it  will  be  interesting  to  you  to  learn  that  we  can  still  place 
no  bounds  to  creation.  We  have,  it  is  tme,  found  the 
limits  of  what  we  call  our  universe  and  have  mapped  out 
all  its  boundaries.  When  this  had  been  done  we  tried  to 
pierce  the  surrounding  darkness,  but  for  a  long  time,  in 
spite  of  our  belief  that  we  could  not  yet  see  the  end,  all 
beyond  seemed  a  \oid.  Recently,  however,  our  faith  has 
been  rewarded,  for  we  can  now  see  other  universes,  buried 
in  far  space  but  revealed  dimly  to  the  higher  powers  of 
our  telescopes, 

"  But  you  are  doubtless  eager  to  hear  of  some  more  defi- 
nite knowledge  gained  from  this  wide  domain.  Well,  we 
have  determined  the  distances,  size,  and  motions  of  many  of 
the  stars,  resolved  star  clusters  and  nebul?e,  solved  the  mys- 
tery of  the  double  and  variable  stars,  and,  what  is  of  more 
consequence  than  all  these  things,  we  have  in  many  in- 
stances discovered  the  secondary  bodies  themselves,  revolv- 
ing around  a  central  sun.  We  now  know,  what  we  so  long 
suspected,  that  the  rolling  stars  are  suns  like  our  own,  giv- 
ing light  and  heat  to  attending  worlds.     With  this  knowl- 


THE    DOCTOR    IS    CONVINCED.  I45 

edge,  can  you  wonder,  Doctor,  that  we  acquired  the  belief 
that  these  worlds,  resembling  so  much  the  planets  of  our 
own  system,  are  fit  homes  for  intelligent  beings?  " 

"  I  cannot  see,"  replied  the  doctor,  "  that  such  a  belief 
necessarily  follows  your  discovery,  which,  I  must  own,  was 
an  exceedingly  valuable  one.  I  can  readily  believe  that 
each  star  that  shines  in  our  sky  is  a  sun  surrounded  by 
dependent  bodies  so  dark  as  to  be  invisible  through  our 
terrestrial  telescopes,  but  still  I  presume  even  your  instru- 
ments are  not  powerful  enough  to  find  any  inhabitants  on 
those  distant  worlds?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  but  for  what  other  conceiv- 
able purpose  were  these  bodies  created?  " 

"  I  frankly  acknowledge  that  I  am  not  able  to  answer 
that  question,"  said  the  doctor.  "  If  you  have  many  more 
wonderful  discoveries  to  relate  I  shall  soon  have  to  own 
myself  convinced." 

"  I  am  trying  to  convince  your  reason,"  resumed  Thor- 
wald,  "  without  the  aid  of  positive  evidence,  but  I  may  as 
well  proceed  now  to  show  you  what  further  knowledge  we 
have  gained. 

"  The  nearer  planets  of  our  own  solar  system  have  been 
naturally  the  objects  of  our  close  scrutiny.  As  our  tele- 
scopes increased  in  power  we  diligently  studied  the  surface 
of  these  globes,  searching  for  signs  of  life.  We  mapped  out 
their  features,  noted  the  various  phenomena  of  season  and 
climate,  and  discovered  many  ways  in  which  they  seemed  to 
be  like  our  world.  But  for  a  long  time  we  found  no  direct 
evidence  that  they  were  inhabited. 

"  At  length,  however,  one  ardent  philosopher,  full  of 
hope,  as  we  all  were,  that  we  had  neighbors  on  some  of  these 
globes,  brought  out  the  idea  that  if  these  neighbors  were  as 
far  advanced  in  astronomical   science  as  we  were,    there 


146  DAYBREAK. 

ought  to  be  some  means  of  communication  between  one 
world  and  another.  The  thought  took  at  once,  and  occa- 
sioned the  most  lively  interest.  We  had  no  doubt,  from 
what  we  had  learned  of  these  planets,  that  they  were  fitted 
to  be,  at  some  time,  the  home  of  intelligent  beings. 
Our  question  was  whether  the  inhabitable  period  of  either 
of  them  coincided  with  that  of  Mars,  and,  if  so,  whether 
the  race  was  sufficiently  developed  to  be  able  to  see  us  as 
well  as  we  could  see  them. 

"The  first  means  suggested  to  attract  the  attention  of 
such  a  race  of  beings  was  fire.  You  can  imagine  that  we 
could  get  together  material  enough  to  make  a  pretty  big 
blaze,  and  we  did.  We  lighted  immense  fires  in  various 
places  and  kept  them  burning  a  long  time,  but  without 
accomplishing  anything.  We  scanned  minutely  the  surface 
of  each  planet,  but  saw  no  sign  anywhere  that  our  effort  at 
communication  was  recognized. 

"  Disappointed,  but  not  discouraged,  we  determined 
next  to  try  a  system  of  simple  hieroglyphics  by  throwing 
up  huge  mounds  on  one  of  our  plains.  We  thought,  if  other 
eyes  were  studying  Mars  as  closely  as  we  were  searching  the 
surface  of  our  sister  planets  for  signs  of  life,  that  they  would 
notice  any  unusual  change  in  our  appearance.  Then  if  they 
did  notice  it  we  hoped  some  means  would  be  found  to  let 
us  know  it. 

"  It  was  decided  to  try  first  the  figure  of  the  circle,  be- 
cause we  knew  that  the  form  of  all  heavenly  bodies  must  be 
the  most  familiar  to  intelligent  life  wherever  it  existed. 
It  took  years  of  labor  to  construct  the  mound,  for  it  was 
thought  best  to  have  it  large  enough  to  give  the  experiment 
a  thorough  trial.  And  now  you  may  believe  we  considered 
ourselves  well  repaid  for  all  our  toil  and  expense  when, 
soon  after  the  circle  was  completed,  our  telescopes  showed 


THE    DOCTOR    IS    CONVINCED.  I47 

US  a  similar  form  actually  growing  upon  the  surface  of  both 
Saturn  and  Uranus.  We  immediately  replied  by  beginning 
the  construction  of  a  square,  and  before  this  was  finished 
both  planets  began  to  answer,  one  with  the  triangle  and  the 
other  with  the  crescent.  The  latter  was  made  by  Uranus,  and 
as  soon  as  it  was  finished  the  triangle  began  to  appear  beside 
it,  showing  to  us  that  Uranus  was  reading  from  Saturn  also. 

"  Other  signs  followed,  although,  of  course,  the  work  was 
very  slow,  and  the  experiments  are  still  in  progress.  Some 
slight  beginning  has  been  made  toward  the  interchange  of 
ideas.  The  time  and  labor  required  will  alone  prevent 
extended  communication,  which  would  make  it  possible  to 
form,  in  the  course  of  ages,  a  mutual  language.  As  we 
were  the  first  to  start  it  we  propose  to  try  to  control  the 
conversation,  but  if  Saturn  and  Uranus  choose  to  steal  our 
idea  and  gossip  between  themselves,  we  know  of  no  way  to 
stop  them." 

As  Thorwald  proceeded  with  this  marvelous  recital,  it 
was  interesting  to  watch  the  doctor's  face.  It  was  so  appar- 
ent to  me  that  he  was  fast  losing  his  skepticism  that  I  was 
not  surprised  to  hear  him  say  : 

"  Thorwald,  one  fact  is  worth  more  to  me  than  a  world 
of  theory,  and  if  you  had  begun  by  relating  this  wonderful 
experience  you  would  not  have  found  me  so  incredulous. 
Who  could  refuse  to  believe  with  such  testimony  before 
him?  What  news  this  will  be  to  take  back  to  the  earth! 
But  you  have,  doubtless,  other  discoveries  to  relate  to  us. 
Excuse  me,"  the  doctor  continued,  turning  to  me,  "  for 
interrupting,  even  for  a  moment,  our  friend's  most  interest- 
ing discourse." 

"  Let  me  say,"  resumed  Thorwald,  "  that  your  interrup- 
tion has  been  helpful  to  me,  for  now  I  know  you  have  lost 
your  doubts  and  believe  with  us  in  this  matter. 


148  DAYBREAK. 

"  These  efforts  at  communication  have  occupied  us  for 
generations,  and  the  close  study  which  we  have  been  obliged 
to  give  to  the  surface  of  the  other  planets  has  made  us  well 
acquainted  with  their  characteristics.  We  have  found  many 
likenesses  to  our  own  world,  as  well  as  various  points  of 
difference.  The  succession  of  the  seasons  has  been  an  inter- 
esting phenomenon.  We  have  watched  with  delight  the 
ever-changing  rings  of  our  neighbor,  Saturn,  and  can  show 
you  pictures  of  them  as  they  were  thousands  of  years  ago. 

"  We  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  observing  the  round  of 
seasons  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  not  dreaming  that  we 
should  ever  have  the  privilege  of  talking  face  to  face  with 
its  inhabitants." 

"  Well,  now  that  we  are  here,  Thonvald,"  said  the  doc- 
tor, "  we  want  to  get  all  the  information  possible.  So 
please  go  on  and  tell  us  more  of  your  discoveries.  How 
about  those  bodies  that  you  have  found  circling  like  planets 
around  other  suns?  Have  you  any  evidence  in  regard  to 
their  inhabitants?  Your  telescopes  cannot  surely  bring 
any  such  bodies  near  enough  to  enable  you  to  communicate 
with  them." 

"  True,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  but  this  is  another  instance 
where  nature  has  lent  us  her  assistance.  If  you  have  been 
surprised  at  some  things  that  I  have  already  said,  you  will 
probably  find  what  I  am  about  to  relate  equally  outside  of 
your  experience." 


CHAPTER    XVIII. 


STRUCK    BY    A    COMET. 


"  The  most  remarkable  event  in  the  realm  of  matter  that 
ever  occurred  in  connection  with  this  planet,  of  which  we 
have  a  record,  was  its  collision  with  a  comet.  This  was 
many  ages  ago  and  it  made  an  epoch  in  our  history,  so  that 
we  say  such  a  thing  occurred  so  many  years  before  or  after 
the  collision.  Although  the  records  are  rather  meager  we 
know  enough  of  the  details  to  have  a  fair  understanding  of 
the  wonderful  event. 

"  The  comet  had  no  established  period,  as  so  many  others 
have,  but  seemed  to  be  an  entirely  new-comer,  and  from  its 
first  appearance  showed  plainly  that  it  was  making  straight 
for  our  planet.  The  astronomers  predicted  at  once  what 
the  inevitable  result  would  be,  and  you  can  imagine  the 
consternation  of  the  world  as  this  monstrous,  fiery  object 
bore  down  upon  us,  increasing  in  size  and  splendor  every 
day,  until  it  filled  half  the  sky  and  threatened  to  engulf  us 
in  flame  and  destruction.  There  seemed  to  be  no  possible 
escape,  and,  in  fact,  there  was  to  be  no  escape  from  a  colli- 
sion, but  almost  all  the  harm  that  followed  was  the  result  of 
pure  fright.  For  as  the  comet  came  rushing  upon  us  the 
whole  hemisphere  of  Mars  was  filled  with  its  blazing  sub- 
stance, which  appeared,  however,  to  burn  itself  out  in  our 
atmosphere,  and  to  leave,  in  most  cases,  nothing  to  reach 
the  ground. 


150  DAYBREAK. 

"  Perhaps  you  have  seen  a  shower  of  falling  stars  on  the 
earth,  brilliant  and  threatening  in  appearance,  but  causing 
in  reality  little  damage.  So  the  comet  came  to  us.  Its 
immense,  fiery  volume,  which  filled  us  with  such  dread, 
was  so  diffused  that  it  was  nearly  all  consumed  by  impact 
with  our  atmosphere.  But  there  was  a  great  solid  nucleus, 
which  struck  the  ground  with  immense  force,  and  remains 
as  our  largest  meteorite. 

"  Thus  not  only  was  our  world  spared  from  destruction, 
but  that  which  threatened  to  be  such  an  evil  proved  to  be  a 
great  acquisition.  For  the  comet,  as  it  is  still  called,  has 
revealed  to  us  the  most  astonishing  secrets.  For  a  long 
time  the  mass  of  matter  lay  untouched,  superstition  and 
the  lack  of  scientific  curiosity  tending  to  preser\'e  it  as  it 
fell.  But  at  length  the  spirit  of  inquiry  proved  to  be  too 
strong,  and  within  a  comparatively  recent  period  the  comet 
has  been  broken  into  and  explored  with  wonderful  results. 

*'  You  must  know,  to  begin  with,  that  this  greatest  natural 
curiosity  on  the  face  of  our  planet  is  no  common  meteorite 
such  as  you  are  acquainted  with.  Indeed,  if  it  had  struck 
the  earth  as  fair  a  blow  as  it  did  us  I  think  the  shock  would 
have  been  felt  much  more  severely  by  your  little  race,  for 
it  is  hundreds  of  miles  in  diameter  and  the  velocity  with 
which  it  was  traveling  was  simply  incredible.  Fortunately 
it  fell  upon  an  uninhabited  plain,  partly  burying  itself  in 
the  ground,  and  for  several  years  the  mass  was  so  hot  that 
it  could  not  be  approached.  This  helped  to  make  it  an 
object  of  awe  and  almost  of  veneration,  so  that  many  cen- 
turies of  time  passed  before  any  critical  examination  was 
made  of  it.  Even  then  nothing  was  accomplished  toward 
revealing  its  marvelous  secrets.  The  surface  was  found  to 
be  hard  and  metallic,  with  the  familiar  burned  appearance 
caused  by  contact  with  the  atmosphere,  and  the  substance, 


STRUCK    BY    A    COMET.  15I 

in  its  chemical  composition,  resembled,  with  some  varia- 
tion, other  meteoric  specimens.  Some  attempt  was  made 
to  penetrate  into  the  interior  of  the  mass,  but  all  that  was 
discovered  led  to  the  belief  that  it  was  of  similar  structure 
throughout. 

"  This  was  the  extent  of  the  knowledge  obtained  of  the 
interesting  object  until  the  beginning  of  the  present  age 
of  advanced  civilization. 

"  When  we  had  learned  by  our  successful  experiments 
that  some  of  our  sister  planets  were  inhabited,  and  when 
our  powerful  telescopes  had  revealed  what  we  believed  to  be 
planets  of  other  systems,  there  was  intense  interest  in  the 
search  for  any  evidence  of  life  in  these  more  distant  worlds. 
They  were  so  very  far  away  that  we  doubted  if  we  could  ever 
know  enough  about  them  to  tell  whether  they  were  habit- 
able, and  it  seemed  as  if  we  could  only  judge  of  their  con- 
dition from  analogy  with  our  own  solar  sj^stem.  These 
views  prevailed  until  the  brilliant  suggestion  was  made,  and 
it  is  not  known  by  whom  it  was  first  advanced,  that  perhaps 
we  had,  right  here  with  us,  the  means  of  discovering  what 
we  so  much  desired  to  know.  It  had  always  been  assumed 
that  our  comet  was  of  uniform  structure,  but  why  let  such  a 
matter  rest  in  uncertainty?  It  is  one  of  the  strange  things 
in  our  history  that  this  question  was  not  seriously  asked 
long  before  that  time.  But  now  that  the  idea  was  broached 
the  work  was  entered  into  with  great  earnestness. 

"  This  was  the  position  :  Here  was  this  huge  mass  that 
had  come  to  us  from  some  unknown  region  of  the  sky,  almost 
certainly  from  beyond  the  bounds  of  our  solar  system,  and 
we  were  to  pry  into  it  to  see  if  it  had  any  story  to  tell  us 
of  its  former  condition.  The  advancement  of  science  had 
given  us  the  means  of  easily  penetrating  into  the  interior  of 
the  comet,  and  it  was  determined  to  make  thorough  work  of 


152  DAYBREAK. 

it.  And  this  feeling  was  found  to  be  necessary,  for  the 
enterprise  proved  to  be  discouraging  for  many  years.  An 
immense  tunnel  was  made  through  the  entire  mass,  and 
nothing  was  found  to  repay  the  trouble.  Many  were  now 
in  favor  of  abandoning  the  work,  but  after  a  period  of  rest 
another  trial  was  decided  upon  and  a  second  tunnel  begun. 
Never  did  perseverance  have  a  more  perfect  reward ;  for, 
before  the  new  excavations  had  proceeded  far,  discoveries 
were  made  which  suddenly  changed  our  comet,  in  regard  to 
which  most  people  had  lost  all  interest,  into  the  most  won- 
derful object  in  all  the  world. 

"  In  short,  we  now  know  that  we  have  here  a  fragment  of 
a  former  planet.  How  the  planet  was  dismembered  and 
how  this  piece  happened  to  come  flying  to  us,  we  do  not 
know.  But  could  it  have  come  about  more  fortunately  for 
us  if  it  had  all  been  designed  by  an  over-ruling  power? 
When  we  had  learned  all  that  our  expanding  but  limited  in- 
telligence could  teach  us  of  the  other  parts  of  the  universe, 
and  when  our  minds  were  ripe  for  more  knowledge,  we  found 
this  magnificent  object  lesson,  which  had  been  waiting  for 
us  all  these  years.  Beneath  the  uninviting  surface  of  that 
familiar  comet  were  revealed  wonders  which,  if  they  had 
been  discovered  when  the  mass  first  came,  would  not  have 
been  half-appreciated,  but  which  now  told  us,  in  answer  to 
our  eager  inquiries,  more  than  we  ever  thought  to  know 
about  the  far-distant  works  of  our  God." 

The  doctor  and  I  were  amazed  beyond  measure  by  this 
recital,  and  were  quite  ready  to  admit  that  a  superior  intel- 
ligence had  directed  the  wonderful  event.  But  we  were 
exceedingly  anxious  to  know  some  of  the  details  of  the 
discovery,  and  when  the  doctor  had  expressed  this  wish 
Thorwald  proceeded  : 

"  I  could  talk  on  this  subject,"  he  said,  "  till  night-fall 


STRUCK    BY    A    COMET.  I53 

if  you  desire,  but  it  will  be  better  for  you  to  restrain  your 
curiosity  till  you  can  be  taken  in  person  to  the  scene.  Let 
me  tell  you  in  general  terms  what  you  will  find.  The 
comet  fell,  as  I  have  said,  in  an  uninhabited  plain,  but  it 
is  now  at  the  door  of  the  largest  city  on  our  planet,  which 
has  been  built  there  since  the  discoveries  were  made.  The 
excavations  have  left  an  immense  opening,  where  galleries 
and  chambers  of  great  extent  have  been  dug  out.  These 
have  been  finished  off  with  untold  labor,  and  new  ones  are 
being  constantly  added.  Here  is  our  greatest  museum, 
beside  which  all  other  collections  of  natural  objects  are  as 
nothing,  for  all  that  has  been  found  in  the  comet  remains 
there;  nothing  has  been  allowed  to  be  taken  away.  You 
will  appreciate  something  of  the  wonderful  character  of 
these  curiosities  when  I  tell  you  that  they  give  evidence 
of  a  world  many  times  larger  than  Jupiter  and  of  an  intel- 
lectual and  spiritual  development  as  much  beyond  ours  as 
ours  is  in  advance  of  that  of  the  earth. 

**  We  have  exhumed  buried  cities  in  our  own  planet  more 
than  once,  where  volcano  or  other  con\iilsion  had  over- 
whelmed them,  and  found  the  relics  of  past  civilization ; 
but  here,  in  our  comet,  we  look  not  upon  the  past  but  upon 
the  future,  as  it  were,  and  see  what  has  been  done  in  a  world 
much  older  than  our  own.  The  belief  that  the  comet  did 
not  originate  in  our  solar  system  has  been  verified,  for  we 
find  that  the  globe  of  which  it  was  once  a  part  revolved 
around  an  immense  sun  which  had  a  retinue  of  twenty- 
seven  planets  of  various  sizes.  Whether  this  great  sun  is 
one  of  the  stars  of  our  firmament  we  can  only  conjecture  ; 
perhaps  in  some  future  state  of  existence  we  shall  know. 

"  You  have  wondered  if  the  earth  will  ever  advance  to 
the  condition  in  which  you  find  us,  and  we  are  asking  the 
same  question  in  regard  to  ourselves  and  the  still  higher 


154  DAYBREAK. 

development  exhibited  in  our  comet.  My  opinion  is  that 
these  very  discoveries  are  to  be  in  a  measure  the  means  of 
our  advancement.  We  are  only  beginning  to  make  out  their 
wonderful  character.  As  we  learn  more  of  them  we  hope  to 
find  out  more  closely  how  that  people  lived,  and  to  be 
directed  in  our  upward  path  by  their  example.  In  the  pur- 
suit of  this  knowledge  we  are  hampered  by  our  ignorance  of 
their  language.  All  that  we  know  of  them  and  their  planet 
has  been  gained  by  their  very  suggestive  pictures  and  illus- 
trations, for  of  their  written*  records,  which  exist  in  great 
abundance,  we  can  as  yet  make  nothing.  In  our  former 
studies  of  the  different  languages  of  our  own  world  we 
found  something  common  to  them  all,  upon  which  we  could 
work;  but  in  this  case  an  entirely  new  principle  seems  to 
obtain,  and  the  problem  so  far  baffles  all  our  skill.  So  you 
see  here  is  something  for  us  to  do,  and  when  we  have  accom- 
plished the  task,  as  I  have  no  doubt  that  result  will  come, 
we  shall  then  be  able  to  study  in  detail  that  remarkable 
civilization  the  knowledge  of  which  is  wisely  kept  from  us 
until  we  can  understand  and  appreciate  it. 

"  You  come  here  from  your  young  planet,  representing  a 
race  that  is  still  struggling  with  the  lower  forms  of  material- 
ism, and  find  us  so  much  in  advance  of  your  condition  that 
perhaps  you  imagine  we  are  perfect.  We  ourselves  know 
we  are  far  from  that  state,  especially  since  we  have  been 
able  to  compare  our  development  with  the  higher  civiliza- 
tion of  the  people  who  once  lived  on  our  comet." 

Thorwald  paused  a  moment,  and  the  doctor,  who  showed 
by  every  indication  that  he  was  engrossed  in  the  subject,  took 
occasion  to  remark : 

"  We  certainly  have  harbored  the  thought  you  attribute 
to  us,  Thorwald.  After  all  you  have  told  us  of  your  free- 
dom from  trouble,  of  the  dethronement  of  selfishness  and 


STRUCK    BY    A    COMET.  I55 

the  reign  of  love,  of  your  great  achievements  in  every  art, 
and  of  your  ideal  life  in  general,  we  shall  always  look  upon 
you  as  a  perfect  race.  How  is  it  possible  to  rise  to  a  higher 
plain?  Can  you  express  in  terms  suited  to  our  comprehen- 
sion your  idea  of  that  advanced  state  of  existence  of  which 
you  find  indications  on  your  comet?  What  is  the  character 
of  that  development?  " 

"  You  will  perhaps  understand  something  of  its  charac- 
ter," answered  Thorwald,  "if  I  say  it  is  almost  entirely 
spiritual.  While  we  have  made  some  progress  in  that  direc- 
tion, our  superiority  over  the  earth-dwellers  is  chiefly  in 
physical  and  intellectual  attainments.  In  the  realm  of 
the  spirit  we  have  yet  far  to  go,  and  as  long  as  we  can  see 
imperfections  in  our  nature  we  feel  that  there  is  something 
ahead  for  us  to  strive  after.  With  that  example  before  us 
of  a  much  more  exalted  life,  we  shall  not  be  satisfied  until 
we  have  learned  its  secrets  and  attained  to  its  perfections. 
In  this  upward  march  we  shall  be  sustained  and  helped  by 
the  same  divine  Power  that  has  thus  far  led  us." 


CHAPTER    XIX. 


I    DISCOVER    THE    SINGER. 


We  were  much  impressed  by  Thorwald's  earnest  words 
and  manner,  and  we  began  to  realize  that  the  civilization  of 
Mars  was  above  our  most  exalted  conception.  I  had  been 
so  carried  away  by  the  topics  which  I  had  feared  were  going 
to  be  uninteresting  that  I  had  lost  some  of  the  restlessness 
of  the  morning,  but  as  our  sitting  broke  up  and  I  noticed 
it  was  drawing  near  noon  my  anxious  thoughts  returned. 
Finding  Fronda  and  learning  from  her  from  what  direction 
Avis  might  be  expected  to  come,  I  determined  to  go  out  alone 
and  see  if  I  could  meet  her.  I  managed  to  get  away  with- 
out the  fact  being  noticed,  as  far  as  I  could  discover, 
and  started  down  the  walk  at  a  brisk  pace.  The  houses 
were  a  good  distance  apart  and  were  all  attractive  enough  to 
draw  out  both  wonder  and  admiration,  had  my  mind  been 
in  a  condition  to  appreciate  their  beauty.  Occasionally  an 
electric  carriage  would  pass  me,  but  the  first  pedestrian  I 
met  was  a  woman  of  noble  bearing  and  about  the  age  of 
Fronda,  I  should  judge.  After  all  I  had  heard  of  the  phys- 
ical and  mental  perfections  of  the  inhabitants  of  Mars,  I  did 
not  expect  to  see  any  but  good-looking  people.  In  this  we 
were  never  disappointed,  though  still  there  were  gradations  of 
beauty  even  there.  This  woman  whom  I  had  met  must  have 
been  at  one  time  strikingly  handsome,  and  if  time  had 
robbed  her  of  any  of  that  quality  it   had   made  it  up  by 


I    DISCOVER    THE    SINGER.  I57 

giving  her  a  rare  sweetness  that  fully  atoned  for  the  loss. 
As  I  was  about  to  pass  her  she  looked  at  me  with  such  a 
pleasant  and  agreeable  curiosity  that  I  stopped  and  said  : 

"  Pardon  me,  but  may  I  ask  you  a  question?  " 

"  Certainly,"  she  answered  in  a  charming  voice,  "  and  I 
shall  be  very  glad  to  help  you  in  any  way.  I  recognize  that 
you  are  one  of  the  earth-dwellers,  and  I  have  met  your  com- 
panion the  doctor." 

"  Is  it  possible?  I  wonder  he  has  not  told  me  of  such 
good  fortune.  But  this  is  the  question  I  wanted  to  ask  you. 
As  you  came  along  this  path  did  you  see  a  young  girl 
named  Avis  ? ' ' 

"  I  did  not,  I  am  sure.  I  have  met  no  young  girl,  and  I 
could  not  see  any  one  by  the  name  of  Avis." 

''Why  so?" 

*'  Because  there  is  no  such  girl." 

"  Excuse  me,"  I  said,  ''  but  probably  you  do  not  know 
her.  I  have  just  come  from  one  of  the  houses  yonder, 
where  she  is  expected  about  noon,  and  I  came  out  to  try 
and  meet  her." 

"  Do  you  know  her?  "  she  asked. 

"  No — or,  rather,  I  hope  so;  I  cannot  tell  till  I  see  her." 

*'  That's  curious.     Have  you  ever  met  her?  " 

"  I  am  not  sure.  I  hope  I  have.  I  cannot  explain  it  to 
you  just  now,  but  the  minute  I  put  my  eyes  on  Avis  I  shall 
be  able  to  answer  all  your  questions." 

"  But  her  name  cannot  be  Avis." 

"  Oh,  yes,  it  is.  It  is  quite  plain  that  you  do  not  know 
her." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  she  returned,  "  there  is  but  one  per- 
son in  all  this  country  by  the  name  of  Avis." 

"  Then  that  is  the  very  person  I  am  trying  to  find." 

"  You  have  found  her." 


158  DAYBREAK. 

"Where?" 

"  Right  here.     I  am  she." 

I  laughed  outright  and  said  : 

"  Oh,  no,  you  must  be  mistaken.  I  do  not  mean  to  be 
disrespectful,  but  the  Avis  I  am  looking  for  is  young, 
younger  than  I  am — evidently  another  person  of  your  name, 
whom  you  have  never  met." 

'■'  How  do  you  know  she  is  young?  " 

**  Why,"  I  answered,  "  of  course  she  is  young." 

And  then,  when  I  thought  of  it  a  moment,  I  remembered 
that  no  one  had  told  me  her  age,  but  I  added  : 

"  I  know  she  is  young,  because  I  have  heard  her  sing." 

It  was  now  my  companion's  turn  to  laugh,  but  although 
her  merriment  was  at  my  expense  its  expression,  like  all 
her  actions,  was  exceedingly  pleasing.  The  thought  oc- 
curred to  me  that  even  the  most  cultured  of  the  earth's 
inhabitants  have  still  much  to  learn  in  the  realm  of  manners. 

"  Oh,  do  you  imagine,"  she  asked,  in  the  midst  of  her 
laughing,  "  that  you  can  tell  one's  age  in  Mars  from  the 
quality  of  the  voice?     Does  this  Avis  of  yours  sing  well?  " 

"  Excellently  well.  Until  I  heard  her  I  had  supposed 
there  was  but  one  singer  anywhere,  in  earth,  sun,  moon,  or 
star,  possessed  of  such  a  sweet  and  thrilling  voice." 

"  And  where,  if  I  may  ask,  did  you  find  that  one?  " 

"  Oh,  the  doctor  and  I  discovered  her  in  our  travels.  I 
will  tell  you  all  about  her  when  I  have  more  time.  Now 
will  you  excuse  me  while  I  continue  my  search  for  Avis?  " 

"  You  have  forgotten,"  she  answered,  "  what  I  told  you. 
I  am  Avis." 

"  Not  my  Avis,  the  singer." 

"  Yes,  the  very  same,  and  I  can  prove  it." 

"How?" 

She  answered  by  turning  half  around,  lifting  her  head,  and 


I    DISCOVER    THE    SINGER.  I59 

sending  out  on  the  air  one  full,  rich  note.  It  poorly 
describes  my  emotions  to  say  I  was  astonished.  If  I  had  been 
blind  and  dependent  only  on  what  I  heard  at  that  moment, 
I  should  have  thrown  myself  at  her  feet  and  called  her 
Mona.  It  brought  back  to  me  not  only  every  expression  of 
]\Iona's  marvelous  voice,  but  also  every  feature  and  every 
grace  which  had  formerly  so  bewitched  me.  If  I  had  loved 
her  passionately  when  we  were  together  in  the  body,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  characterize  my  feelings  now  that  she 
was  present  only  in  memory.  These  sensations  swept  over 
me  rapidly,  but  before  I  could  utter  a  word  my  companion 
spoke  again  : 

"  I  see  you  hesitate.  Let  me  complete  my  proof  by 
saying  that  you  are  visiting,  with  Zenith  and  Thorwald,  at 
the  house  of  Fronda,  and  have  heard  me  sing  two  nights  in 
succession." 

*'Then,"  I  exclaimed,  with  sorrow  and  despair  in  my 
voice,  "  I  have  indeed  found  Avis,  but,  alas  !  I  have  once 
more  lost  Mona." 

"How  so?" 

"Why,  don't  you  see?  I  expected  to  find  Mona  and 
lose  Avis.  I  thought  Avis  was  Mona,  a  thought  born  partly 
of  hope,  I  suppose,  but  it  did  not  seem  possible  that  there 
could  be  two  such  singers.  So  you  are  really  Avis.  I  must 
try  and  remember  that,  and  not  express  any  more  sorrow  at 
not  losing  you.  If  Avis  could  not  be  Mona  it  is  certainly 
a  great  consolation  to  find  her  in  you.  Let  me  return  with 
you  to  Proctor's  ;  and  now,  will  you  not  sing  for  me  as  we 
walk?" 

"  Are  you  so  fond  of  singing,  or  is  it  because  you  like  to 
be  reminded  of  Mona?  " 

"  Both,  I  assure  you." 

"  Does  my  voice  sound  like  hers  in  conversation?  " 


l6o  DAYBREAK. 

"  Oh,  no,  Mona  never  talked  as  we  do.  Everything  she 
wanted  to  say  she  sang." 

"You  surprise  me,"  said  Avis.  "I  should  think  she 
would  soon  become  tiresome  to  her  friends." 

"  If  you  had  ever  known  her  you  would  not  make  such  a 
remark  as  that." 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,"  she  quickly  returned.  "  I  presume 
you  are  right.  And  now,  to  atone  for  wounding  your  feel- 
ings, I  will  sing  till  we  come  in  sight  of  Fronda's  house." 

"  I  thank  you  very  much,  and  I  promise  you  I  shall  walk 
as  slowly  as  possible." 

She  sang  some  sweet  little  things  for  me  as  we  sauntered 
along,  attracting  me  powerfully  and  making  it  easier  for 
me  to  conceal  my  great  disappointment. 

When  we  reached  the  house  Avis  explained,  in  a  few 
pleasant  words,  the  fact  of  our  acquaintance,  and  as  soon  as 
family  and  guests  were  all  gathered  for  the  noonday  lunch 
I  told  them  about  my  peculiar  forgetfulness  of  what  had 
occurred  on  the  moon  and  then  about  the  manner  in  which 
the  events  had  been  brought  back  to  my  mind.  They 
showed  more  interest  in  the  latter  part  of  my  relation 
than  in  the  former,  and  when  I  was  through  the  doctor  said  : 

"  I  must  confess  to  you  now,  my  friend,  that  I  told  these 
good  people  something  about  your  aberration.  It  was 
entirely  for  your  own  sake,  fori  wanted  their  helj)  in  bring- 
ing about  your  recovery,  and  now  that  we  have  been  suc- 
cessful I  hope  you  will  forgive  me." 

"You  know  there  is  nothing  to  forgive,"  I  replied. 
Then  Zenith  said  : 

"The  doctor  implies  that  we  have  all  helped  in  the 
happy  result,  but  I  can  tell  you  that  it  is  entirely  due  to 
himself  and  Avis.  He  happened  to  meet  Avis  and  heard 
her  sing.     He  was  struck  at  once  with  the  likeness  between 


I    DISCOVER    THE    SINGER.  l6l 

her  voice  and  Mona's,  about  whom  he  had  told  us,  and  he 
conceived  the  idea  that  if  you  could  hear  it  when  you  were 
alone,  say  in  the  night,  and  not  know  who  the  singer  was, 
it  might  be  the  means  of  bringing  the  forgotten  circum- 
stances all  back  to  you.  From  what  the  doctor  has  told 
us  we  have,  every  one  of  us,  fallen  in  love  with  Mona,  and 
I  presume  when  we  get  your  estimate  we  shall  think  none 
the  less  of  her.  If  I  am  correctly  informed  you  found  her 
especially  attractive." 

"  In  answer  to  your  kind  expressions  of  interest  in  me. 
Zenith,  I  will  say  that,  in  spite  of  my  appreciation  of  what 
you  are  all  doing  for  us,  I  shall  never  see  another  really 
happy  moment  until  Mona  is  found." 

"Then,"  quickly  responded  Thorwald,  "we  must  re- 
double our  efforts  to  find  her.  I  must  tell  you  that  ever 
since  the  doctor  first  acquainted  us  with  the  loss  of  Mona 
we  have  had  parties  searching  for  her  in  all  that  part  of 
the  ocean." 

"How  thoughtful  you  are,"  I  exclaimed.  "  But  why  do 
we  not  hurry  home?     Perhaps  she  is  found." 

"I  regret  to  add  to  your  sorrow,"  said  Thorwald,  "  but 
we  should  learn  of  it  here  as  quickly  as  at  home,  for  I  am 
in  constant  communication  with  my  friends  who  are  con- 
ducting the  search.  Still,  we  have  been  staying  here  for  you 
and  can  now  bring  our  visit  to  a  close  at  any  time." 

So  after  lunch  we  bade  adieu  to  Proctor  and  his  house- 
hold, and  started  for  home,  the  same  way  we  went  out — that 
is,  by  going  west  again. 

As  we  made  a  leisurely  journey  and  enjoyed  a  good 
night's  rest  on  the  way,  it  was  just  before  noon  when  wc 
arrived  at  Thorwald's  house.  Here  we  found  Antonia,  who 
had  been  advised  of  our  coming  by  telephone,  and  had 
prepared  a  nice  lunch  for  us.  Just  as  we  were  all  about  to 
II 


l62  DAYBREAK. 

sit  do%vn  to  enjoy  it,  a  young  man  entered  unannounced 
and,  without  formal  invitation,  joined  us  in  gathering 
about  the  board.  This  was  not  an  instance  of  undue  famil- 
iarity, as  we  soon  discovered,  but  illustrated  again  the  free 
and  hearty  hospitality  of  these  generous  people. 

"  Foedric,"  said  Thonvald,  as  soon  as  the  guest  had  been 
greeted,  "  let  me  present  you  to  these  two  friends  from  the 
earth.     You  doubtless  have  heard  o^  their  arrival." 

"I  have,"  answered  Foedric,  "and  lam  exceedingly 
pleased  to  make  their  acquaintance."  And  then  turning  to 
the  doctor,  he  said  : 

"  We  shall  not  let  Thonvald  and  Zenith  have  the  monop- 
oly of  your  company  while  you  are  visiting  our  world. 
Many  others  are  anxious  to  see  you  and  to  learn  something 
of  our  sister  planet." 

"  There  is  not  much  to  learn,"  said  the  doctor,  "  from 
such  an  unripe  race  as  we  represent,  and  I  must  say  your 
people  have  not  exhibited  any  unpleasant  curiosity." 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  not  been  annoyed.  We  under- 
stand too  well  what  is  due  you  as  our  guests  to  crowd  our 
attentions  upon  you,  but  you  will  allow  me  to  say  that 
already  the  main  facts  in  your  case  are  known  all  over  our 
world,  and  our  scientists  are  discussing  the  earth  and  its 
inhabitants  in  the  great  light  of  the  knowledge  which  you 
have  brought." 

Foedric  spoke  with  ease,  and  yet  with  entire  absence  of 
youthful  pedantry.  The  doctor  and  I  could  but  admire 
his  fine  face  and  robust  form,  as  well  as  his  manly  courtesy 
and  friendliness.  And  before  the  meal  was  over  we  dis- 
covered that  one  other  person  at  the  table  admired  him, 
probably  for  the  same  and  many  other  qualities.  It 
seemed  to  us  accidental  when  Foedric  had  dropped  in  upon 
us  and  chosen  a  seat  next  to  Antonia,  but  it  soon  became 


I    DISCOVER    THE    SINGER.  163 

evident  that  we  had  not  witnessed  even  that  kind  of  an 
accident. 

What  was  exhibited  to  us  there,  among  that  highly 
developed  people,  was  a  genuine,  old-fashioned,  new-fash- 
ioned love  affair.  We  rejoiced  in  our  hearts  to  find  that 
their  advanced  civilization  left  abundant  room  for  the 
development  of  the  tender  passion,  and  that  it  also  seemed 
not  to  discourage  a  plain  and  sensible  exhibition  of  it. 
For  these  two  young  people  made  no  effort  to  conceal  their 
happiness.  Not  the  company  of  their  chosen  friends  nor 
the  presence  of  strangers  from  a  distant  world  caused  them 
the  slightest  embarrassment,  as  they  spoke  from  time  to 
time  their  words  of  love,  simple  words  to  other  listeners, 
but  full  of  meaning  to  themselves. 

"  Say  that  again,  Antonia,"  spoke  Foedric. 

"  Why  do  you  ask  me  to  repeat  it  so  often?  I  have  said 
it  so  many  times  and  with  so  little  variety  of  expression 
that  I  fear  the  monotony  will  tire  you.  You  can  tell  how 
strong  my  devotion  is  by  my  every  look  and  action." 

"Very  well,"  Foedric  responded,  "  then  I,  too,  will  be 
silent." 

"  Oh,  no  ;  I  retract  what  I  have  said  if  it  is  to  have  that 
effect.  It  is  only  my  own  expressions  that  seem  tiresome. 
I  could  not  be  happy  without  your  voice  in  my  ears,  though 
you  repeat  from  morn  till  eve  the  old,  familiar  words." 

"  Then  you  must  believe  the  same  of  me,"  said  Fcedric. 

As  we  all  happened  to  be  listening  to  these  two  at  that 
moment,  Foedric  looked  up  to  our  host  and  said  : 

"  Thorwald,  do  you  think  Antonia  and  I  had  better  try 
to  reform  the  customs  of  the  world,  and  do  away  with  all 
verbal  expression  of  our  attachment,  on  the  ground  that  it 
is  unnecessary  and  only  a  waste  of  breath?  " 

"  If  some  cruel  master  should  force  such  a  prohibition 


164  DAYBREAK. 

upon  you,  Foedric,  what  would  be  your  feeling?  The 
heart  craves  such  expression  as  naturally  as  the  body  craves 
food.  Suppose  a  couple  were  to  start  off  by  saying  once  for 
all  that  they  loved  each  other,  and  then  agree  to  live  the 
rest  of  their  lives  on  that  one  expression.  They  would 
argue  that  all  such  sentiment  was  folly,  and  interfered 
with  the  serious  business  of  life ;  and  so,  denying  a  healthy 
appetite,  their  hearts  would  shrivel  up  and  the  fair  blos- 
som of  their  love  would  soon  wither  and  die." 

As  we  smiled  at  Thorwald's  words.  Zenith  showed  her 
interest  by  saying : 

"  The  subject  reminds  me  of  that  epoch  in  our  history  of 
which  we  read,  when  all  the  world  went  without  eating  for 
a  time." 

"  Without  eating?  "  asked  the  doctor. 

"  Yes,  I  will  tell  you  about  it.  Once  science  reached 
that  condition  where  it  thought  it  could  make  the  world 
over  and  improve  on  the  first  creation  in  a  great  many  ways. 
Men  began  to  say  that  the  time  spent  in  cooking  and  eating 
was  all  wasted;  that  time,  being  the  most  valuable  thing 
they  had,  should  be  employed  in  some  more  useful  way 
than  in  indulging  a  mere  sensual  passion.  The  appetite 
came  to  be  looked  upon  as  something  too  gross  for  intel- 
ligent beings  and  suited  only  to  the  natures  of  the  lower  ani- 
mals. Under  the  influence  of  this  growing  sentiment,  science 
soon  discovered  a  process  for  condensing  our  food  to  won- 
derfully small  proportions.  All  extraneous  matter  was 
rejected,  and  only  those  particles  retained  which  were  abso- 
lutely essential  to  our  nourishment,  chemical  knowledge 
having  reached  a  high  state.  The  result  was  that  it  finally 
became  possible  to  subsist  a  whole  day  on  a  single  swallow. 
One  pill,  taken  every  morning,  contained  all  the  food 
required,  both  for  the  growth  and  maintenance  of  the  body. 


I    DISCOVER    THE    SINGER.  165 

Science  prided  itself  on  such  an  advanced  step,  and  men 
looked  forward  and  wondered  what  further  marvels  the 
future  would  bring  forth." 

The  doctor  did  not  try  to  hide  his  interest  in  this  recital, 
and  as  soon  as  Zenith  paused  he  said  : 

"  My  friend  and  myself  are  most  truly  thankful  that  that 
custom  did  not  continue  to  the  present  day.'  But  did  it 
remain  long?  " 

"  No,"  replied  Zenith,  "  of  course  it  could  not.  At  first 
people  thought  it  an  immense  gain.  Just  think  of  the  time 
and  expense  it  saved  in  every  household,  doing  away  with 
dining-room  and  kitchen,  with  all  their  furniture  and  uten- 
sils, and  reducing  the  cares  of  housekeeping  much  more 
than  half.  But  it  proved  to  be  a  costly  experiment,  and 
nature  soon  exerted  itself,  as  it  always  will  in  time.  Science, 
not  satisfied  with  what  had  been  accomplished,  kept  striv- 
ing after  what  it  called  more  perfect  results,  and  just  as 
it  had  made  a  pellet  of  such  powerful  ingredients  that  it 
would  sustain  life  for  a  week,  men  began  to  die  rapidly  of 
the  treatment.  This  called  a  halt,  but  the  damage  done 
was  serious  enough  to  give  the  world  a  good  fright,  turn  it 
back  to  the  old-fashioned  habit  of  eating,  and  confirm  us 
forever  in  that  indulgence.  Since  then  we  have  believed 
that  such  appetites  are  given  us  for  a  wise  purpose  and  that, 
rightly  enjoyed,  they  are  a  means  of  growth  toward  a  more 
and  more  perfect  state." 

"  This  lesson  from  our  experience  then,"  said  Foedric  to 
Antonia,  "is  to  teach  us  the  plain  duty  of  lavishing  upon 
each  other,  without  measure,  our  affectionate  words,  be- 
cause it  is  a  legitimate,  healthy  longing  of  our  nature,  and 
I  sincerely  hope  you  will  take  it  to  heart.  Do  not  under- 
take to  make  me  exist  a  week  or  a  day  on  a  single  morsel." 

As  for  myself,  I  was  not  so  much  engrossed  in  this  talk  as  to 


l66  DAYBREAK. 

forget  my  own  condition,  wliich  seemed  all  the  more  forlorn 
by  contrast  with  the  unalloyed  happiness  of  these  joyous 
beings.  I  wondered  if  such  affairs  always  went  smoothly 
in  Mars.  Was  early  love  always  mutual,  or  did  one  some- 
times refuse  to  be  wooed  and  prefer  another?  And  did  it 
ever  happen  that  the  loved  one  was  lost,  as  Mona  was  lost 
to  me,  perhaps  never  to  be  found? 

But  in  the  company  of  such  happy  people  I  felt  that  ray 
anxious  spirit  was  out  of  place,  and  I  tried  to  cast  off  my 
forebodings  and  to  seize  from  the  image  of  Mona  present 
in  my  memory  a  portion  of  her  own  cheer  and  hope.  That 
I  was  not  entirely  successful  my  looks  must  have  shown, 
for  as  we  rose  from  the  table  Zenith  said  to  me,  with  a  look 
of  sympathy  : 

"  You  are  sad — I  think  I  will  send  for  Avis  to  come  over 
and  cheer  you  up." 

This  was  spoken  as  if  Avis  were  just  across  the  street  and 
could  run  over  in  a  minute.  But  as  I  did  not  discourage 
the  idea  the  invitation  was  sent,  and  before  night  Avis  was 
with  us,  filling  the  house  with  melody.  She  delighted  in 
her  song  and  was  as  youthful  in  spirit  as  a  girl,  and  this 
was  a  quality  always  noticeable  in  the  Martians.  And, 
moreover,  under  the  influence  of  Avis  the  members  of  our 
own  household  found  their  voices,  so  that  the  doctor  and  I 
learned  that  they  need  not  send  to  the  antipodes  for  singers. 
Zenith  and  Foedric  were  exceptionally  good,  but  no  one 
except  Avis  possessed  the  peculiar  charm  of  Mona. 


CHAPTER    XX. 

A    WONDERFUL    REVELATION. 

There  was  no  way  by  which  we  could  learn  so  much  and 
so  rapidly  about  that  wonderful  world  as  by  conversation, 
so  at  every  opportunity  we  tried  to  get  Thorwald  and  the 
others  to  give  us  portions  of  their  history.  From  time  to 
time  my  companion  and  myself  compared  our  impressions, 
and  expressed  to  each  other  the  pleasure  we  anticipated  in 
relating  all  the  amazing  things  we  had  seen  and  heard  to 
our  friends  on  the  earth.  The  exceedingly  doubtful  problem 
of  our  ever  getting  back  to  our  home  again  did  not  trouble 
us  then. 

We  said  to  each  other  that  the  most  startling  things  had 
probably  all  been  told  us,  and  that  we  could  not  be  much 
surprised  by  anything  that  they  could  tell  us  further.  And 
yet  there  was  that  to  follow  which,  if  we  could  fully  enter 
into  its  significance,  would  make  us  forget  much  of  what 
we  had  already  heard,  or  at  least  care  but  little  to  recall  it. 
In  truth,  the  new  revelation  which  we  were  about  to  receive 
from  the  lips  of  our  friend  was  of  so  much  value,  and  so 
different  in  character  from  the  other  subjects  Thorwald  had 
spoken  of,  that  we  afterward  came  to  look  upon  all  that 
had  gone  before  as  an  introduction,  perhaps  intended  to 
prepare  our  minds  for  a  much  grander  truth.  Yet  it  was 
brought  out  by  a  question  from  me,  a  question  of  whose 
importance  I  had  little  conception. 


l68  DAYBREAK. 

When  Thonvald  was  ready  to  talk  one  day  I  said  to  him  : 

"  We  have  heard  you  several  times  speak  reverently  of  a 
God.     Will  you  tell  us  definitely  what  your  religion  is?  " 

"  With  pleasure,"  he  replied.  "  We  worship  one  (}od, 
the  maker  of  all  things,  and  his  Son,  Jesus  Christ,  who  gave 
his  life  for  us." 

"  Why,  how  did  you  hear  of  his  death,  Thorwald?  " 

"  I  might  better  ask  how  you  heard  of  it.  Many  cen- 
turies ago  God  saw  fit  to  reveal  himself  more  fully  to  us  by 
sending  his  only  Son,  who  came  in  the  likeness  of  our  flesh, 
dwelt  among  us,  and  by  cruel  hands  was  slain.  He  gave 
himself  a  sacrifice  for  our  sins,  but  rose  again  from  the  dead, 
as  we,  too,  shall  rise.  He  ascended  into  heaven  and 
through  him  we  now  have  access  unto  the  Father." 

"  But  Jesus  died  on  the  earth  too,  and  you  but  describe 
his  relations  to  us." 

"  I  rejoice  greatly  to  hear  it,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  and 
I  know  now  why  you  were  sent  to  us.  This  information  is 
of  inestimable  value  to  us,  for  we  have  spent  much  thought 
on  the  question  of  the  moral  government  of  other  worlds 
that  we  knew  were  inhabited.  In  God's  dealings  with 
Mars,  lifting  up  our  souls  and  preparing  us  for  his  service 
and  glory,  we  believed  he  was  working  in  the  very  best  way. 
There  can  be  but  one  best  way ;  and  so,  considering  that 
there  might  be  many  other  races  of  sinful  beings  needing  a 
saviour,  we  wondered  how  God's  mercy  was  revealed  to 
them.  This  bright  news  which  you  bring  is  worth  more  to 
us  at  the  present  time  than  all  other  possible  information 
about  the  earth  or  its  people.  The  fact  that  the  earth  is  in- 
habited was  no  great  surprise  to  us  after  what  we  had  learned 
of  our  larger  neighbors,  but  this — this  is  news  indeed. 

"  As  an  example  of  what  our  interest  in  this  subject  has 
prompted  us  to  do,  let  me  tell  you  that  in  our  extremely 


A    WONDERFUL    REVELATION.  169 

laborious  and  limited  intercourse  with  Saturn  and  Uranus  we 
made  the  form  of  the  cross.  We  all  feared  our  work  might 
be  in  vain  and  many  doubted  seriously  the  wisdom  of  pro- 
ceeding with  the  undertaking,  which  occupied  many  years, 
when  it  was  so  probable  that  those  distant  people  would 
not  know  what  the  sign  meant.  But  we  labored  on,  and 
before  the  form  was  fairly  finished  it  was  with  the  keenest 
pleasure  that  we  saw  the  answer  growing  on  the  rounded 
surface  of  each  planet.  They  worked,  they  stopped,  and 
then  we  realized  that  both  had  replied  to  our  question  with 
the  short  straight  line  which,  in  our  communications,  has 
come  to  be  the  affirmative  sign,  or  the  '  yes  '  in  the  new 
universal  language. 

"We  interpreted  this  answer  to  mean  that  the  great 
redemption  signified  by  the  cross  was  known  to  the  highly 
intelligent  races  that  peopled  these  rolling  worlds.  But 
how  did  that  knowledge  reach  them?  To  that  question  we 
never  hoped  to  get  an  answer.  Did  a  troop  of  bright  angels 
issue  forth  from  the  gates  of  heaven  and  wing  their  way 
from  one  planet  to  another,  as  each  race  was  ready  for  the 
joyful  tidings,  and  make  this  glad  announcement? — '  Peace 
from  heaven  to  this  world  !  On  Mars,  your  sister  planet,  a 
child  was  born,  the  Son  of  God,  the  Saviour  of  the  uni- 
verse. He  lived  a  perfect  life  for  your  example,  he  died 
on  the  cross  for  your  salvation.  Believe  in  him,  love  him, 
follow  him  !  ' 

"  We  thought  much  on  this  point,  wondering  reverently 
how  God  had  wrought.  And  now  you  have  come  to  explain 
all  the  mystery,  to  answer  all  questions.  One  simple  sen- 
tence tells  it  all  :  '  Jesus  died  on  the  earth  too.' 

"  I  see  it  perfectly  now.  Christ,  the  Lord  of  heaven, 
came  to  us  in  the  fullness  of  time,  took  upon  him  the  like- 
ness of  our  flesh,  lived  nobly,  was  slain,  rose  again  from 


IjO  DAYBREAK. 

the  dead,  and  ascended  into  heaven  to  prepare  blessed  man- 
sions for  all  his  followers.  So,  too,  in  the  fullness  of  your 
time,  when  the  earth  was  ready  for  the  great  sacrifice,  Christ 
offered  himself  again.  He  appeared  in  human  form  and 
lived  among  men  as  he  had  lived  with  us,  pointing  your 
race,  also,  to  a  home  of  peace  and  joy  above. 

"  Better  than  any  announcement  of  angels  of  what  had 
taken  place  in  some  other  world  was  his  actual  life  among 
you,  going  about  doing  good,  shedding  around  him  the 
spirit  of  love  and  self-denial,  showing  you  the  way  to  live, 
the  way  to  die. 

"  Among  the  vast  multitude  of  peopled  worlds  which 
God  has  made,  there  is  doubtless  great  variety  in  nature 
and  condition.  But  if  there  are  any  others  whose  inhabi- 
tants were  ever  in  our  lost  condition,  let  us  hope  and 
believe  that  the  same  great  act  of  mercy  has  been  shown  to 
them  which  has  so  greatly  blessed  the  planets  of  our  own 
system." 

Here,  at  Thorwald's  request,  I  told  him  briefly  of  the 
Saviour's  advent  on  the  earth  in  the  fulfillment  of  prophecy, 
of  his  beautiful  life,  and  then  of  the  marvelous  improve- 
ment his  religion  had  brought  about  as  it  spread  in  the 
world. 

Thorwald  appeared  intensely  interested,  and  exclaimed ; 

"  Oh  !  how  this  truth  you  have  told  us  does  make  brothers 
of  us  all,  and  how  it  will  enhance  the  pleasure  of  our  inter- 
course. Now  in  our  future  conversation  we  shall  be  in  full 
sympathy,  knowing  that,  though  born  so  far  apart,  we  are 
all  followers  of  the  same  dear  Master. 

"Zenith,"  said  Thorwald  to  his  wife,  who  was  sitting 
with  us,  "  this  is  a  happy  day  for  us  all.  These  earth- 
dwellers,  these  men  who  have  come  to  visit  our  world,  are 
not  strangers  ;  they  are  Christians.     Think  of  it." 


A    WONDERFUL    REVELATION.  171 

At  this  juncture  I  could  not  help  studying  the  doctor's 
face,  for  I  knew  this  was  the  first  time  he  had  ever  been 
called  a  Christian.  In  spite  of  the  seriousness  of  the 
situation,  I  was  obliged  to  indulge  in  a  quiet  smile  to  think 
he  had  to  go  all  the  way  to  Mars  to  be  recognized  in  his 
true  character.  For  although  he  would  not  acknowledge 
the  divine  source  of  it,  he  had  imbibed  a  great  deal  of  the 
real  Christian  spirit.  But  he  had  spent  his  life  in  seeking 
for  scientific  knowledge  in  various  directions  and  was  con- 
tent, as  he  often  said,  to  leave  the  unknowable  without 
investigation,  I  wondered  whether,  in  these  novel  cir- 
cumstances, he  would  care  to  give  voice  to  his  agnosti- 
cism. But  the  doctor  was  honest  or  he  was  nothing,  and  he 
could  not  endure  that  Thorwald  should  rest  under,  the  false 
impression  implied  by  his  closing  words.  So  with  some 
effort,  as  I  could  see,  he  said  : 

"  I  dislike  exceedingly,  Thorwald,  to  destroy  the  least 
particle  of  the  effect  of  your  eloquence,  but  I  feel  compelled 
to  say  that,  as  for  me,  I  have  never  called  myself  a  Chris- 
tian." 

"  Not  a  Christian  !  "  said  Thorwald,  "  I  do  not  under- 
stand you.  But  perhaps  you  use  some  other  name.  You 
surely  do  not  mean  that  you  turn  aside  from  that  divine 
being  who  came  to  the  earth  to  save  you." 

"  I  do  not  know  that  such  a  being  did  come  to  the 
earth." 

"  What  !  "  exclaimed  Thorwald,  "  is  there  any  doubt  of 
it?  Has  your  companion  here  been  deceived?  Must  we 
give  up  our  new-found  joy?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  no,"  answered  the  doctor  hurriedly.  "  I  sup- 
pose it  is  true  that  a  good  man  named  Jesus  once  lived  on 
the  earth  and  taught,  and  died  a  shameful  death." 

"  A  good  man  !     Nothing  more?  " 


172  DAYBREAK. 

"  I  don't  know,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"  What  do  you  believe?  " 

"  I  do  not  allow  myself  to  have  any  belief." 

"  Well,  now.  Doctor,  you  are  a  thinking  being.  Con- 
sidering all  you  know  about  Jesus — his  noble  life,  his  char- 
acter and  the  character  of  his  teachings,  and  then  the 
claims  he  made  for  himself — what  do  you  think  of  him?  " 

"  Before  such  mysteries,  and  in  answer  to  all  questions 
relating  to  what  is  called  the  supernatural,  I  always  say, 
'  I  do  not  know.'  " 

"Well,"  continued  Thorwald,  "do  you  think  the  life 
and  death  of  a  good  man  could  set  in  motion  forces  that 
would  so  transform  the  world  and  give  it  such  a  start 
toward  a  higher  and  more  perfect  state?  " 

To  this  the  doctor  replied  : 

"  In  the  early  part  of  this  conversation  my  companion 
told  you  he  thought  the  condition  of  man  on  the  earth  was 
improving,  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  earth  was  growing 
better.  In  that  opinion  he  has  many  supporters,  but  it  is 
only  fair  that  you  should  know  that  some  of  us  hold  just 
the  opposite  view.  We  see  so  much  evil  in  the  world,  evil 
that  is  unrebuked  and  growing  stronger  from  year  to  year, 
so  many  forces  at  work  dragging  men  downward  and  such 
fearful  clouds  ahead,  that  it  seems  to  us  that  the  good  is 
overmatched,  and  that  there  is  but  little  hope  of  a  happy 
future  for  our  race.  I  will  also  say,  in  order  to  be  perfectly 
frank,  that  even  if  we  should  admit  that  our  civilization 
was  advancing,  we  should  not  attribute  it  to  the  influence 
of  the  Jewish  reformer." 

"  Then,"  said  Thorwald,  "  if  I  understand  your  feeling, 
you  have  no  love,  no  thanks  even,  for  him  who  gave  his  life 
for  you,  and  no  sense  of  gratitude  for  the  loving  Father 
who  sent  his  Son  to  die  for  your  sins." 


A    WONDERFUL    REVELATION.  173 

"  I  think  you  are  hardly  just,"  replied  the  doctor,  "  for  I 
am  not  conscious  of  living  a  life  of  ingratitude.  Your 
words  imply  a  great  deal  that  I  know  nothing  about.  I  am 
not  aware  that  anyone  was  ever  sent  from  heaven  to  die  for 
me,  and  I  do  not  even  know  there  is  a  heaven  and  a  God." 

"  Did  it  ever  occur  to  you,  Doctor,  that  your  attitude 
does  not  alter  the  facts?  In  spite  of  your  unbelief,  or 
indifiference  if  you  will,  there  is  a  God  whose  steps  are 
heard  throughout  the  universe,  whose  hand  upholds  all 
worlds,  and  who  looks  with  loving  eyes  upon  all  created 
beings,  even  upon  those  who  have  the  intelligence  but  not 
the  heart  to  acknowledge  him.  Oh  !  it  is  amazing  to  me 
that  there  can  be  one  such  being  in  all  God's  dominions." 

"  Why,  are  there  not  any  in  Mars?  " 

"  In  Mars?  Not  one.  Let  me  tell  you,  Doctor,  that 
here  you  will  be  unique,  if  that  is  any  consolation  to  you. 
When  this  talk  is  made  public  and  the  facts  in  your  case 
are  spread  abroad  everybody  will  want  a  share  in  bringing 
you  to  your  right  mind,  and  we  shall  see  what  the  result  will 
be  with  a  world  full  of  missionaries  to  one  heathen." 

"  Please  do  not  use  that  word,  Thorwald.  I  was  bom  in 
Boston — you  must  know  where  Boston  is — of  good  old  Puritan 
stock,  and  I  am  not  a  heathen  because  I  don't  know  about 
some  matters  that  I  cannot,  in  the  nature  of  things,  know 
anything  about.  You  found  a  while  ago  that  I  wanted 
imagination,  and  you  now  see  that  I  am  deficient  also  in 
faith,  which  it  seems  to  me  is  a  product  of  the  imagina- 
tion." 

"  No,"  broke  in  Thorwald,  "  faith  might  rather  be  called 
the  product  of  reason  and  of  the  conscience,  enlightened 
by  every  revelation  which  God  has  made.  But  with  us 
faith  is  an  instinct.  We  believe  in  God  as  naturally  as  we 
trust  our  parents.     Our  souls  reach  after  divine  things  to 


174  DAYBREAK, 

satisfy  their  longings,  just  as  our  bodies  seek  the  food  that 
shall  nourish  them.  In  all  this  world  there  is  not  a  heart 
devoid  of  love  to  God,  not  one  that  does  not  own  a  personal 
and  joyful  allegiance  to  the  divine  Saviour. 

"  But  I  forget  that  the  earth  is  still  young,  and  that,  very 
long  ago,  when  Mars  was  in  your  condition,  representatives 
of  our  race  actually  walked  the  surface  of  this  planet  with 
no  more  thought  of  its  Maker  than  you  exhibit.  Forgive 
me  if,  in  this  talk,  I  have  seemed  too  positive  of  things 
which  you  claim  cannot  be  known.  But  here  there  is  no 
uncertainty  in  these  matters.  There  is  now  no  open  ques- 
tion in  regard  to  the  existence  of  God  and  his  loving  care 
of  us." 

"  But,  Thorwald,"  asked  the  doctor,  "  how  can  you  be 
sure?  Help  me  to  see  these  things  as  you  do.  In  the 
matter  of  the  habitability  of  other  worlds  you  brought  me 
over  to  your  opinion  by  producing  evidence  which  took 
away  all  uncertainty  and  left  me  no  room  to  doubt.  Is  it 
so  in  this  case?  " 

"No,  my  friend,"  answered  Thorwald,  "it  is  not  so. 
The  evidence  in  this  case  is  of  an  entirely  different  char- 
acter. Your  companion  has  told  me  how  God  has  dealt 
with  men,  by  what  means  he  has  made  known  his  will,  and 
how  he  has  revealed  his  love  and  mercy  to  your  race.  So 
has  it  been  with  us,  only  here  we  have  had  more  time  to 
acquaint  ourselves  with  these  blessed  truths.  If  you  ask  for 
proofs,  I  can  only  say  they  are  the  same  which  have  no 
doubt  been  reiterated  many  times  in  your  ears.  The  voices 
that  come  to  us  from  the  invisible  world  are  not  tuned  to 
the  coarse  fiber  of  our  physical  nature,  but  are  addressed  to 
our  spirits,  our  very  selves,  and  he  who  does  not  heed  those 
voices  would  not  be  persuaded  even  though  one  should  rise 
from  the  dead. 


A    WONDERFUL    REVELATION.  175 

"  Let  me  induce  you,  Doctor,  to  cultivate  the  spiritual 
part  of  your  being,  evidently  undeveloped  as  yet,  for  only 
then  will  you  begin  to  realize  that  the  evidence  in  support 
of  these  divine  truths  is  more  convincing  than  any  possible 
proofs  that  could  be  presented  to  our  outward  senses." 

"Under  your  instruction,"  said  the  doctor,  "and  with 
the  example  of  a  world  full  of  spirits  of  your  faith  and 
practice,  I  will  do  my  best  to  follow  your  advice,  and  try 
to  catch  some  faint  strain  from  those  heavenly  voices.  If 
I  cannot  believe,  it  shall  no  longer  be  because  I  will  not. 
But  now,  Thorwald,  you  have  given  too  much  time  to  me 
and  have  been  drawn  away  from  your  purpose  of  enlighten- 
ing us  in  regard  to  your  wonderful  planet." 

"  Yes,  Thorwald,"  said  I,  "  we  must  hear  more  of  your 
interesting  history,  and  I  think  an  account  of  what  the  relig- 
ion of  Jesus  has  done  for  Mars  will  help  to  win  the  doctor 
to  right  views." 

"  I  shall  take  much  pleasure  in  doing  the  best  I  can 
whenever  you  are  good  enough  to  listen,"  Thorwald 
answered.  "  But  we  shall  now  be  still  more  anxious  to 
hear  further  about  the  earth." 


CHAPTER   XXI. 

A    LITTLE    ANCIENT    HISTORY. 

In  the  foregoing  personal  conversation,  Thorwald  had 
been  uncompromising  in  look  and  tone,  as  well  as  in  word, 
toward  the  errors  of  my  friend,  but  for  the  doctor  himself 
I  was  sure  he  had  the  kindest  feelings.  The  discovery  of 
the  dearth  of  spiritual  perception  in  the  doctor  was  a 
greater  surprise  to  Thorwald,  I  really  believe,  than  our  first 
appearance  was.  And  it  was  a  surprise  well  calculated  to 
awaken  in  his  finer  nature  a  feeling  as  near  akin  to  indig- 
nation as  the  Martian  mind  of  that  era  was  capable  of 
experiencing.  So  we  had  here  the  opportunity  of  observing 
how  a  member  of  this  highly  civilized  race,  one  endowed 
with  such  lofty  attributes,  would  act  under  severe  provoca- 
tion. The  exhibition  was  instructive.  Thorwald  certainly 
resented  with  all  the  force  of  his  pure  and  upright  nature 
all  that  was  evil  in  the  doctor's  attitude.  Such  doubt  was 
entirely  new  to  his  experience.  He  had  no  place  for  it; 
and  he  could  do  no  less  than  cry  out  against  it  as  he  had 
done.  But  his  manner  softened  as  soon  as  the  doctor's 
mood  changed,  and  it  was  apparent  that  he  was  ready  to 
encourage  in  every  possible  way  the  slightest  indication  of 
a  change.  And  from  this  time  Thorwald  was  particularly 
tender  toward  the  doctor,  evidently  desiring  to  show  him 
that,  unbending  to  everything  like  disloyalty  to  (iod,  he 
recognized  his  sincerity  when  he  declared  that  he  would  no 
longer  set  his  will  against  the  reception  of  the  truth. 


A    LITTLE    ANCIENT    HISTORY.  I77 

In  this  mind  Thorwald  said  : 

"  I  perceive,  Doctor,  that  your  sturdy  self-respect  and 
the  fear  that  you  might  appear  in  a  false  position  have  com- 
pelled you  to  be  unfair  to  yourself.  You  believe  more 
than  you  confess,  else  why  did  you  repel  with  such  feeling 
my  insinuation  that  you  were  a  heathen?  But  if  you  have 
ever  determined  to  go  through  life  believing  in  only  what 
your  hand  can  touch  and  your  eye  can  see,  let  me  induce 
you  to  close  your  eyes  and  fold  your  hands  for  a  while,  and 
with  expectancy  wait  for  the  coming  into  your  heart  of  that 
divine  influence  which,  encouraged  however  feebly,  shall 
presently  show  to  your  inner  and  better  vision,  in  all  his 
beauty,  him  whom  no  eye  hath  seen  nor  can  see. 

"  I  do  not  exclude  you  therefore.  Doctor,  when  I  say 
again  that  we  have  all  been  drawn  into  close  sympathy  by 
the  knowledge  your  companion  has  imparted,  and  in  what 
I  have  to  say  further  I  am  sure  you  will  both  see  a  great 
deal  to  cause  you  to  realize  that  your  race  and  ours  have  the 
same  dear  Father,  who  is  guiding  us  to  a  common  destiny. 

"  At  your  request  I   am   to  give  you  from  time  to  time, 

as  we  have  opportunity,  an  account  of  the  successive  steps 

of  our  development,  and  I  would  like  to  say  at  the  start  that 

there  will  be  one  great  difference  between  what  I  am  to  tell 

you  and  the  rambling  talk  with  which  we  began  our  happy 

acquaintance.     Then  I  gave  you  a  few  facts  to  show  our 

present  condition,  without   intimating  that  there  was  any 

higher  force  at  work  than  a  natural  desire  in  us  to  make  the 

most  of  ourselves,   and  treat  our  neighbors    well.      Now, 

since  I  have  discovered  that  you  can  enter  into  my  feelings 

to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  I  shall  not  hesitate  to  refer  to 

its  true  source  all  that  has  helped  us  attain  to  our  present 

condition,  and  all   that  is  urging  us  on  to  a  still  higher 

state." 

12 


178  DAYBREAK. 

"  We  shall  be  very  glad  to  know  what  you  consider  the 
spring  of  all  the  vast  improvement  in  your  race,"  I  re- 
marked. 

"  I  did  not  use  the  word  '  consider,'  "  replied  Thorwald. 
"  That  would  imply  doubt  where  there  is  none.  It  is 
established  beyond  controversy  that  both  our  material  and 
spiritual  development  have  come  only  through  the  personal 
love  and  care  of  God  for  the  creatures  whom  he  has  made, 
exhibited  through  all  our  history,  but  especially  through  the 
sending  of  his  Son." 

"  Some  on  the  earth  recognize  the  same  truth  in  reference 
to  our  race,"  I  said.  "But,  in  general,  people  do  not 
think  much  of  such  things,  or  if  they  think  they  do  not  say 
much.  In  fact,  religious  subjects  are  not  as  a  rule  popular 
in  conversation." 

"Why,  what  reason  can  there  be  for  that?"  Thorwald 
inquired  with  eager  interest. 

"  Oh,  there  is  too  much  indifference  in  the  matter,"  I 
replied.  "  I  suppose  most  men  do  not  think  their  relations 
to  their  Maker  important  enough  to  give  them  any  concern. 
And  even  the  best  among  us  shrink  from  urging  their 
opinions  on  others,  partly  because  they  know  they  are  not 
perfect  examples  themselves,  and  also  from  the  feeling  that 
their  friends  are  intelligent  beings  and  ought  to  know,  as 
well  as  they  do,  what  is  best  for  them." 

"  Oh,  then,  my  dear  Doctor,"  said  Thorvvald,  "  I  per- 
ceive that  I  have  committed  a  breach  of  etiquette  in  forcing 
this  subject  upon  you,  and  in  asking  you  to  put  yourself  in 
the  way  of  receiving  spiritual  impressions." 

"  In  the  circumstances,  I  think  you  are  excusable,"  re- 
plied the  doctor;  "  and,  besides,  I  believe  I  introduced  the 
topic." 

"If  you  stay  long  with  us,"  resumed  Thorwald,  "you 


A    LITTLE    ANCIENT    HISTORY.  179 

will  become  accustomed  to  religious  conversation,  for  here 
there  is  entire  freedom  in  such  matters.  Our  spiritual 
experiences  and  the  great  possibilities  of  the  future  state 
are  exceedingly  pleasant  things  to  talk  about,  we  think,  and 
we  feel  no  more  sensitiveness  in  doing  it  than  in  conversing 
on  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life.  Being  relieved  of  so  many 
of  the  cares  pertaining  to  your  existence,  our  minds  are 
the  more  prepared  to  occupy  themselves  with  these  high 
themes,  and  what  is  more  natural  than  that  we  should  often 
like  to  speak  to  each  other  about  them?  As  these  things 
become  more  real  to  you  and  the  necessity  of  spending  so 
much  time  in  caring  for  the  body  diminishes,  you  will 
gradually  lose  your  present  feeling.  You  will  also  find  that, 
in  making  these  subjects  familiar,  they  need  not  lose  dig- 
nity and  you  need  not  lose  reverence." 

"Thonvald,"  asked  the  doctor,  "  could  you  not  give  us 
a  brief  sketch  of  your  career,  so  that  we  may  compare  it 
with  that  of  our  race?  " 

"  I  will  do  the  best  I  can,"  answered  Thonvald.  "I 
think  that  is  a  good  suggestion,  and  after  that  is  done 
any  of  us  can  tell  you  the  history  of  different  epochs  as 
opportunity  offers.  You  are  both  such  good  listeners  that 
it  is  a  pleasure  to  talk  to  you,  but  I  want  you  to  promise  to 
interrupt  me  with  questions  whenever  you  wish  anything 
more  fully  explained." 

We  promised  to  do  so,  and  Thonvald  began : 

"  Our  world  is  very  old.  The  geologic  formations  tell 
us  of  a  time  when  no  life  could  exist — long  ages  of  convul- 
sion and  change  in  the  crust  of  the  globe.  In  time  the 
conflict  of  the  elements  subsided  and  the  boundaries 
between  land  and  water  were  established.  Then  came 
vegetable  life,  rank  and  abundant,  preparing  stores  of  coal 
and  oil  for  use  in  the  far  future.     Animals  followed,  the 


l80  DAYBREAK. 

first  forms  crude  and  monstrous,  but  succeeded  by  others 
better  adapted  to  be  the  contemporaries  and  companions  of 
our  race. 

"  The  planet  was  now  ready  for  its  destiny,  and  it  was 
put  into  the  hands  of  intelligent  beings,  made  in  the  image 
of  their  Creator.  This  race  started  in  the  highest  conceiv- 
able state,  perfect  in  body,  mind,  and  spirit.  The  material 
Avorld  was  soon  subdued  to  their  use,  and  paradise  reigned 
below.  We  do  not  know  how  long  this  condition  lasted, 
but  in  some  way  sin  entered  and  all  was  changed.  Sorrow 
and  death  came,  and  a  thousand  ills  to  vex  us.  An- 
other period  passed,  and  the  race  had  become  so  wicked 
that  it  could  not  be  allowed  to  exist.  A  pestilence  swept 
over  the  world,  and  all  but  one  tribe  perished.  Through 
this  remnant  the  world  was  repeopled,  but  sin  and  woe 
remained,  to  be  driven  out  at  last  only  by  a  struggle  too 
great  for  the  arm  of  flesh  alone. 

"  But  the  conflict  began  in  hope,  a  hope  inspired  by  the 
voice  of  God.  From  the  very  entrance  of  sin  help  from 
above  had  been  promised  in  the  person  of  one  who  should 
conquer  evil,  and  through  whom  the  race  might  be  restored 
to  a  much  higher  position  even  than  that  from  which 
it  had  fallen.  Slowly  the  spirit  of  good,  which  is  the 
spirit  of  God,  worked  upon  the  heart,  and  in  all  ages  there 
were  some  who  walked  in  that  spirit.  By  one  such  soul 
God  raised  up  a  people  to  whom  he  committed  his  message 
to  the  race,  and  through  whom,  at  a  later  day,  he  fulfilled 
the  promise.  Among  this  people  there  arose  many  faithful 
ones,  and  by  them,  from  time  to  time,  God  added  to  his 
message,  acting  as  the  personal  guide  and  defender  of  his 
people,  and  leading  them  by  every  path  until  they  finally 
knew  him,  in  every  fiber  of  their  being,  to  be  the  only  God. 

*'  Prophets,   too,   there  were  among    them,   who,    under 


A    LITTLE    ANCIENT    HISTORY.  IO:I 

divine  guidance,  foretold  a  time  of  universal  peace,  when 
the  kingdom  of  Christ  should  come  in  all  hearts  and  when 
even  the  beasts  of  the  field  should  dwell  together  in  unity." 

"  Why,  we  have  just  such  prophecies,"  said  I,  "  but  they 
are  generally  interpreted  figuratively.  Do  you  really  think 
they  will  be  literally  fulfilled  on  the  earth?  " 

"  Well,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  I  have  already  told  you 
what  has  come  to  pass  here,  and  I  will  leave  you  to  judge 
from  our  experience  as  to  what  will  come  of  the  prophecies 
that  have  been  made  to  you.  From  all  you  have  said  atone 
time  and  another,  I  can  see  plenty  of  evidence  that  the 
earth  is  traveling  the  same  road  with  us,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  it  will  one  day  reach  even  a  higher  condition  than 
the  one  we  now  enjoy. 

"At  length,  when  the  time  was  ripe,  God  sent  the 
promised  Saviour.  He,  the  Lord  of  heaven,  came  and  lived 
as  one  of  us.  He  gathered  around  him  a  few  faithful  souls, 
he  preached  his  gospel  of  light  and  comfort  to  the  poor,  and 
wept  over  the  very  woes  he  had  come  down  to  remove. 
His  humility  proved  a  stumbling-block  to  the  selfishness  of 
the  world,  and  his  own  nation  rejected  him.  He  conquered 
death  and  returned  to  his  Father's  home,  but  his  spirit, 
which  had  always  been  present  in  some  measure,  now  came 
with  force,  and  began,  through  his  followers,  the  task  of 
regenerating  the  race. 

"  A  feeble  church,  planted  thus  amid  sin  and  darkness, 
took  deep  root  in  loyal  hearts,  grew  strong  with  persecu- 
tion, and  soon  kindled  a  light  which  pierced  the  darkness 
and  gradually  spread  its  illumination  over  all  our  planet. 
The  history  of  that  church  is  the  history  of  our  development. 
The  race  has  not  come  so  far  toward  its  maturity  without 
a  mighty  struggle.  The  long  course  of  preparation  for  the 
present  higher  condition  has  had  many  interruptions  and 


lS2  DAYBREAK. 

obstructions.  There  have  been  dark  ages  of  stagnation  and 
threatened  defeat,  and  there  have  been  ages  of  hope  and 
advancement.  Through  all  this  history  the  light  of  the 
gospel,  though  often  obscured,  has  never  been  extinguished, 
and  every  step  of  progress  that  has  been  made  in  our  con- 
dition is  to  be  traced  directly  to  that  light.  We  have  not 
always  been  able  to  realize  that ;  but,  now  that  we  understand 
more  fully  our  wonderful  career,  we  see  how  true  it  is  that 
we  have  been  led  by  a  divine  hand." 

"  Do  you  mean,"  I  asked,  "  that  your  vast  improvement 
in  material  affairs  has  come  through  Christianity?  " 

"Certainly,"  answered  Thonvald.  "Our  civilization 
has  walked  hand  in  hand  with  true  religion,  and  in  all  ages 
every  permanent  advance  in  our  condition  has  come  through 
the  influence  of  the  spirit  of  good,  which  is  always  urging 
us  to  a  higher  and  better  state.  In  our  progress  many  mis- 
takes have  been  made,  with  consequences  so  serious  as  to 
threaten  at  the  time  our  final  defeat;  but  a  higher  power 
has  led  us  through  all  our  troubles  to  a  place  of  safety, 
where  we  can  survey  with  gratitude  the  field  of  conflict. 
If  you  so  desire,  I  can  relate  to  you  at  another  time  some  of 
the  mistakes  which  have  at  times  set  us  back  in  our  march 
toward  a  physical  and  spiritual  superiority." 

We  were  pleased  to  notice  by  this  last  remark  of  Thor- 
wald's  that  he  had  still  in  reserve  many  things  to  tell  us, 
and  we  so  expressed  ourselves  to  him. 


CHAPTER    XXII. 


AGAIN    THE    MOON. 


Days  passed  and  brought  no  news  of  Mona.  I  did  all 
in  my  power  to  appear  cheerful,  but  often  made  a  dismal 
failure  of  it.  No  one  could  help  me,  and  Thorwald,  though 
sympathetic  like  all  the  rest,  would  allow  me  no  false 
hopes.  He  said  a  systematic  and  thorough  search  had  been 
made,  both  on  land  and  water,  without  result,  and  he  could 
see  no  prospect  of  any  success  in  the  future.  But,  while  I 
could  see  that  Thorwald  was  about  ready  to  abandon  in 
despair  the  attempt  to  find  Mona,  I  would  not  give  up  hope. 
I  did  not  know  at  the  time  what  excellent  reasons  Thorwald 
had  for  his  feeling,  for  I  did  not  realize  how  very  complete 
the  search  had  been,  but  my  own  faith  was  not  founded  on 
reason.  I  simply  refused  to  believe  that  I  should  never 
see  again  the  object  of  such  deep  love. 

While  affairs  were  in  this  condition,  Thorwald  said  to  us 
one  morning : 

"  I  wonder  you  have  not  been  more  anxious  to  see  one 
of  our  flying  machines.  Our  system  of  aerial  navigation  is 
one  of  the  most  enjoyable  of  our  material  blessings,  and  I 
shall  take  great  pleasure  in  giving  you  a  taste  of  it." 

"I  think  one  reason,"  I  answered,  *' why  we  have  not 
asked  about  it  is  because  we  have  had  so  many  other  inter- 
esting things  to  see,  and  then  you  know  we  had  our  share 
of  traveling  in  the  air  in  coming  to  you.     However,  we 


184  DAYBREAK. 

shall  be  delighted  to  see  your  method  at  any  time  when 
you  are  j^l eased  to  exhibit  it." 

"Very  well,"  said  Thorwald  ;  "then  we  will  get  up  an 
expedition  at  once.  Zenith  and  Avis  will  accompany  us,  I 
think;  and  as  we  sh:;ll  probably  fall  in  with  Foedric,  we 
will  send  for  Antonia  to  go  also." 

"  That  will  make  a  pleasant  party,"  I  said. 

We  found  all  were  glad  to  go  and  witness  our  introduc- 
tion to  a  modern  air  ship,  and  we  were  soon  off. 

Not  far  from  the  house  we  found  a  luxurious  carriage  of 
just  the  right  size  for  us  all.  We  did  not  see  another  like 
it  anyAvhere  about,  and  I  was  moved  to  ask : 

"  How  does  it  happen,  Thorwald,  that  exactly  the  kind 
of  conveyance  you  want  is  ready  without  any  prearrange- 
ment?  This  sort  of  carriage  does  not  appear  to  be  very 
plentiful." 

"  Things  generally  '  happen,'  as  you  call  it,  for  our  con- 
venience," he  said.  "  Is  it  not  so  with  you  to  some  extent? 
If  all  the  people  wanted  to  travel  in  your  cars  on  the  same 
day  and  at  the  same  hour,  they  could  not  easily  be  accom- 
modated, but  some  dispensation  divides  them  up  so  that 
there  are,  I  presume,  about  the  same  number  who  find  it 
necessary  or  convenient  to  travel  each  day.  This  subject 
has  been  studied  by  us,  and  we  believe  that  even  these 
details  of  our  lives  are  all  arranged  by  him  to  whom  noth- 
ing is  small,  nothing  great." 

A  pleasant  ride  of  a  few  miles  brought  us  to  a  seaport, 
and  to  a  scene  of  much  activity.  It  seemed  to  be  a  great 
distributing  point,  as  numerous  loads  of  many  kinds  of 
gc'jds  were  moving  about,  and  immense  stores  of  fruit  and 
vegetables  were  to  be  seen.  These  products  of  the  soil 
were  of  bewildering  variety  and  surpassing  richness,  show- 
ing us  that  agriculture,  providing  most  of  the    food  of  the 


AGAIN    THE    MOON.  185 

people,  must  be  a  favorite  science  with  many,  and  one  that 
brought  rich  rewards.  It  was  pleasing  to  see  everything 
going  on  in  such  a  quiet,  orderly  manner,  and  so  many 
people  at  work  without  friction  and  with  no  look  of  fret, 
hurry,  or  fatigue.  Everyone  seemed  to  be  enjoying  his 
work,  if  that  could  be  called  work  which  looked  so  much 
like  pleasure. 

After  riding  through  several  busy  streets  we  drew  near  an 
imposing  structure,  which  Thorwald  told  us  was  the  front 
of  the  aerial  station.  At  the  same  time  he  directed  our 
attention  to  the  sky,  and  we  saw  a  number  of  air  ships  sail- 
ing leisurely  along,  some  just  starting  out  and  others  appar- 
ently returning  home.  The  doctor  and  I  had  our  interest 
quickened  by  this  sight  and  were  anxious  for  a  closer  view. 
As  the  fact  of  riding  in  the  air  was  not  new  to  us,  we  had 
not  been  much  excited  by  the  prospect  of  seeing  how  the 
Martians  did  it.  But  these  ships  were  so  different  from 
anything  we  had  ever  seen  before  that  we  began  to  antici- 
pate a  great  deal  from  our  excursion  after  all. 

Going  through  the  building,  we  came  into  an  immense 
court  or  open  space,  large  enough,  one  would  suppose, 
for  the  fleets  of  a  nation.  Here  were  a  great  number  of 
flying  machines  of  various  sizes,  all  gayly  decorated  with 
pleasing  colors,  and  many  of  them,  apparently,  waiting  for 
passengers.  Thorwald  selected  one  of  medium  size,  and 
as  we  approached,  whom  should  we  find  in  charge  but  our 
young  friend  Foedric?  In  answer  to  Thorwald's  question, 
he  told  us  that  both  he  and  his  vessel  were  at  our  service, 
and  we  proceeded  to  mount  to  our  seats  in  the  car. 

Foedric  pulled  a  small  lever,  and  we  began  to  rise.  He 
then  expressed  his  pleasure  to  the  doctor  and  me  that  he 
had  the  opportunity  of  making  our  further  acquaintance. 

"  We  are  taking  them  for  the  ride,"  said  Thorwald,  "  and 


l86  DAYBREAK. 

you   may  choose   any  course  and    go    to    any   height  you 
please." 

We  thanked  Foedric  for  his  pleasant  words,  and  then  he 
showed  us  about  the  car  and  explained  its  conveniences. 
It  was  quite  large,  with  a  number  of  apartments  and  accom- 
modations sufficient  for  a  dozen  people  both  day  and  night. 
Besides  the  ordinary  furnishings  for  comfortable  living,  we 
saw  air-condensing  machines  for  use  in  lofty  flights,  a  good- 
sized  telescope,  instruments  for  measuring  speed  and  height, 
and  other  scientific  apparatus  of  much  of  which  we  were 
obliged  to  ask  the  use. 

Although  Fcedric  was  so  much  younger  than  Thorwald, 
he  was  taller  and  larger  ever)'  way — a  magnificent  specimen 
of  a  magnificent  race.  In  speaking  to  Thorwald  he  showed 
a  proper  respect  for  his  greater  age,  and  he  bore  himself 
becomingly  in  the  presence  of  Zenith;  but  there  was  not 
the  slightest  sign  of  subserviency,  nor  anything  to  show 
that,  though  engaged  in  what  might  be  called  a  lowly  occu- 
pation, he  was  not  on  terms  of  perfect  equality  and  even 
friendship  with  them.  This  easy  poise  of  manner  would 
not  have  surprised  us  had  we  known  what  Thorwald  soon 
told  us,  and  from  this  experience  we  learned  never  to  judge 
a  Martian  by  the  work  he  happened  to  be  doing. 

"  Fcedric  is  a  scholar,"  said  Thorwald,  "  and  is  engaged 
just  now  in  writing  a  treatise  on  the  color  of  sounds." 

This  announcement  was  a  double  surprise,  for  we  would 
have  said,  if  he  was  writing  anything,  that  it  must  be  some- 
thing about  ballooning — the  application  of  electricity  to 
flying  machinery,  perhaps.  But  Thorwald  further  enlight- 
ened us,  the  talk  going  on  in  Foedric's  presence  : 

"  He  was  attracted  to  that  subject  by  the  fact  that  he 
possesses  in  a  striking  degree  the  faculty  of  hearing  color, 
which  belongs  only   to  refined   minds.     We  all  have   this 


AGAIN    THE    MOON.  187 

power  to  some  extent,  but  in  this,  as  in  so  many  other  things, 
there  are  great  differences  among  us.  As  an  example  of 
this  power,  if  you  will  excuse  me,  Doctor,  I  will  tell  you 
that  your  voice  is  dark  blue,  while  yours,"  he  continued, 
turning  to  me,  "  is  yellow.  Foedric,  a  true  son  of  Mars, 
speaks  red,  and  as  for  Zenith,  her  soft,  pink  voice  has 
always  been  to  me  one  of  her  principal  charms,  and  though 
it  would  be  folly  to  deny  that  she  has  changed  some  in 
appearance  (not  for  the  worse,  however)  since  I  first  knew 
her,  her  voice  has  retained  the  same  tone  or  color.  I  will 
ask  Foedric  if  I  am  correct  in  my  impressions." 

"Quite  correct,"  answered  Foedric.  "When  I  first 
heard  your  friend,  the  doctor,  speak  I  thought  his  voice  was 
brown,  but  it  has  changed  since  to  such  an  extent  that  I 
think  as  you  do — that  the  prevailing  tinge  is  a  deep  blue. 
Such  cases  are  not  unknown  among  us,  but  they  are  not 
frequent." 

"  If  the  color  of  my  voice  sympathizes  with  my 
thoughts,"  said  the  doctor,  "  I  do  not  wonder  that  your 
quick  ears  have  noticed  a  change." 

"  I  ought  to  say,"  resumed  Foedric,  "  that  I  have  to  rely 
on  my  friends  to  tell  me  the  shade  of  my  own  voice,  for  to 
my  ears  it  is  as  colorless  as  a  piece  of  the  clearest  glass, 
and  this  is  the  common  experience." 

"  I  would  like  to  ask  about  the  color  of  Antonia's  voice," 
I  said,  "  and  Avis's,  too." 

"Antonia's  is  a  be-autiful  green,"  answered  Foedric, 
looking  with  a  smile  at  the  fair  one,  "and  Avis,  both  in 
song  and  speech,  has  your  color — yellow." 

"  Foedric,"  said  Thorwald,  "  tell  our  friends  what  you 
and  others  are  trying  to  discover  in  connection  with  the 
air  vibrations.     It  may  be  suggestive  to  them." 

"  I  can  claim    but  little    part    in    the  work,"    Foedric 


l88  DAYBREAK. 

responded,  "but  it  is  this.  Our  ears  report  to  our  brain 
the  air  waves  until  they  reach  a  frequency  of  forty  thou- 
sand in  a  second,  and  we  call  the  sensation  sound.  When 
the  vibrations  of  the  ether  are  more  rapid  than  that,  we 
have  no  sense  with  which  to  receive  the  impression  until 
they  reach  the  great  number  of  four  hundred  million  millions 
in  a  second.  Then  they  affect  the  eye  and  produce  red  light, 
and  as  they  increase  still  more  the  color  becomes  orange, 
then  yellow,  green,  blue,  and  violet.  Perhaps  your  limita- 
tions are  not  the  same  as  ours,  but  our  scientists  are  trying 
to  discover  some  means  by  which  we  can  arrest  and  make 
use  of  a  small  part  at  least  of  those  waves  which  strike  our 
bodies  at  a  frequency  between  forty  thousand  and  four  hun- 
dred million  millions.  It  is  still  an  unsolved  problem,  this 
search  for  another  sense,  and  we  are  now  looking  forward 
for  help  in  the  task  to  the  studies  of  the  civilization  repre- 
sented in  our  comet." 

All  this  time  we  were  rising  slowly  but  hardly  realizing 
it,  being  filled  with  that  peculiar  sensation,  incident  to 
balloon  journeys,  by  which  we  could  almost  believe  we 
were  remaining  about  in  the  same  place  and  the  solid 
ground  was  falling  away  from  us. 

Now  Foedric  increased  our  speed  and  showed  us  how 
easily  he  could  sail  in  any  direction  and  at  any  rate  he 
pleased,  explaining  to  us  the  mechanism  by  which  we  were 
upheld  and  propelled,  and  also  the  way  in  which  the 
current  of  electricity  was  generated  and  applied.  They 
certainly  had  a  wonderful  method  of  producing  great  power 
with  little  weight,  and  the  doctor  eagerly  drank  in  the  infor- 
mation in  regard  to  it,  as  if  for  future  use. 

It  was  charming.  The  atmosphere  was  as  clear  as  crys- 
tal, the  air  balmy  and  the  motion  delightful,  and  if  the 
Martians,    with    their    purer    nature    and    keener    senses, 


AGAIN    THE    MOON.  189 

enjoyed  the  trip  that  morning  more  than  we  earth-dwellers 
did,  then  their  capacity  for  enjoyment  must  have  been 
beyond  ours.  The  ship  seemed  to  be  under  perfect  con- 
trol ;  there  was  nothing  uncertain  in  her  movements,  and 
as  we  went  sailing  along  without  fear  of  harm,  in  the  very 
poetry  of  motion,  the  doctor  and  I  realized  over  and  over 
again  that  we  had  much  to  learn  in  this  method  of  naviga- 
tion. 

Now  we  were  riding  at  a  good  height,  and  our  vision 
could  take  in  a  wide  expanse  of  land  and  water.  The 
peculiarity  of  the  surface  of  Mars  was  noticeable,  the  seas 
being  long,  narrow  inlets,  as  it  were,  running  through  or 
between  winding  strings  of  land,  a  decided  contrast  to  the 
great  oceans  and  noble  continents  of  our  mother  earth.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  this  was  much  to  the  advantage  of  the 
earth,  and  so  I  was  bold  enough  to  say  : 

"  When  I  used  to  look  at  a  map  of  Mars,  Thorwald,  I 
remember  thinking  that  the  planet  was  not  a  handsome  one, 
whatever  might  be  the  character  of  its  inhabitants.  But  I 
have  no  doubt  you  have  an  answer  for  me  which  will  give 
some  good  reason  for  the  peculiar  structure  of  the  surface 
of  Mars  and  make  me  ashamed  of  my  sentimental  preference 
for  the  earth." 

"  I  certainly  hope  you  will  hear  nothing  while  you  are 
with  us  to  make  you  ashamed  of  your  own  planet,"  said 
Thorwald;  "but  I  must  tell  you  the  truth  in  regard  to 
Mars.  How  do  you  like  our  climate,  as  far  as  you  have 
experienced  it?  " 

"  We  have  enjoyed  it  exceedingly,"  I  answered,  "  and  I 
have  been  on  the  point  of  remarking  several  times  that  we 
were  fortunate  in  making  our  visit  here  at  so  pleasant  a 
season  of  the  year. ' ' 

"  But,"  said  Thorwald,  "  you  could  not  have  come  in  a 


190  DAYBREAK. 

worse  season,  for  we  have  none  worse  than  this.  The  tem- 
perature varies  enough  to  give  variety,  but  not  enough  in 
either  direction  to  cause  discomfort.  Each  season  is  quite 
distinctive  from  the  others,  but  each  has  its  peculiar  charm 
and  all  are  equally  enjoyable.  Our  telescopes  tell  us  it  is 
not  so  on  the  earth,  for  we  can  see  the  winter  snow  creep 
well  down  on  its  surface  and  remain  there  several  months, 
then  go  away  and  come  on  the  other  hemisphere.  We 
know  this  means  great  changes  of  climate,  and  as  the  incli- 
nation of  the  axis  of  the  earth  to  the  plane  of  its  orbit 
is  about  the  same  as  that  of  the  axis  of  Mars,  we  believe 
we  would  have  equally  violent  changes  were  it  not  for  the 
fortunate  distribution  of  land  and  water  on  our  planet. 
All  those  narrow  seas  which  disfigure  our  surface  in  your 
eyes,  are  in  reality  vast  rivers,  which  are  constantly  bear- 
ing the  water  from  one  part  of  the  globe  to  another.  The 
warm  water  of  the  equatorial  regions  is  carried  to  the  cold 
countries  north  and  south,  and  the  water  thus  displaced 
cools  in  its  turn  the  lands  more  directly  under  the  sun. 
Thus  the  temperature  of  all  parts  is  nearly  equalized.  In 
the  summer  in  this  latitude  the  water  that  washes  our  shores 
is  cool  and  in  the  winter  it  is  warm,  and  the  strips  of  land 
are  so  narrow  that  all  places  feel  the  influence,  making  the 
climate  delightful  everywhere.  At  each  pole  there  is  a  spot 
of  perpetual  snow,  but  these  are  comparatively  small,  and 
the  fields  are  cultivated  right  up  to  the  foot  of  the  snow 
hills." 

This  recital  excited  the  doctor's  interest  amazingly,  and 
as  Thorwald  closed  he  said  : 

"  I  rather  think  my  companion  did  not  expect  so  com- 
plete an  answer,  but  I  am  glad  his  words  suggested  to  you 
this  statement,  Thorwald.  It  is  of  great  value  to  us  in 
our  study  of  your  remarkable  planet.       How  wonderfully 


AGAIN    THE    MOON.  I9I 

God  has  adapted  everything  to  your  comfort  and  well- 
being  !  " 

Thorwald  smiled  in  appreciation  of  the  doctor's  final 
words,  but  before  he  had  time  to  speak  we  were  a  little 
startled  by  the  red  voice  of  Foedric,  calling  out : 

' '  The  moon  !     Look  ! ' ' 

It  was  nothing  new  for  any  of  us  now  to  look  at  our  old 
moon.  We  had  seen  it  almost  every  day,  had  talked  much 
about  it,  and  thought  the  novelty  of  its  companionship  to 
Mars  about  worn  off.  But  our  present  high  position  and  the 
clear,  thin  atmosphere  gave  it  quite  a  changed  appearance, 
as  it  was  slowly  coming  into  view  above  the  horizon.  We 
watched  it  in  silence  for  a  while  and  saw  it  mount  the  east- 
ern sky,  and  I  think  all  of  us  except  Fcedric  had  the  same 
thought,  that  it  appeared  to  be  much  nearer  than  usual. 
Foedric  had  seen  it  before  from  the  same  height,  and  knew 
when  he  called  our  attention  to  it  that  we  were  going  to  be 
surprised. 

As  the  moon  rose  still  higher  it  appeared  to  be  coming 
toward  us,  instead  of  aiming  at  a  point  far  over  our  heads, 
and  our  next  sensation  was  caused  by  Zenith,  who  mildly 
exclaimed  : 

"  It  cannot  be  more  than  a  few  miles  away.  Why  not  go 
and  make  it  a  visit?  " 

To  her  surprise,  if  people  of  such  high  endowments  ever 
are  surprised,  Thorwald  asked  quickly  : 

"  Are  you  willing  to  try  it  if  the  rest  of  us  are?  " 

"  Certainly,"  she  replied. 

"  Foedric,"  said  Thorwald,  "  what  do  you  say  to  flying 
out  to  the  moon  and  attempting  an  invasion  of  it?  " 

"  I  say,"  answered  Foedric,  "  that  I  am  ready.  We 
have  provisions  enough  for  several  days,  and  I  believe  the 
capacity  of  our  battery  is  sufficient  for  the  trip." 


192  DAYBREAK. 

Thonvald  learned  from  Avis  and  Antonia  that  they  would 
not  object  to  the  trial,  and  then  said  : 

"  Well,  we  have  a  good  majority,  but  must  not  think  of 
deciding  on  so  important  a  step  unless  the  feeling  is  unani- 
mous. Let  us  hear  from  our  friends  here,  who  have  had 
some  experience  with  the  moon." 

The  doctor  said  pleasantly  that  he  should  like  nothing 
better  than  the  proposed  experiment,  and,  as  I  was  the  last, 
I  remarked  that  I  could  not  spoil  such  an  interesting  pro- 
ject by  withholding  my  consent.  But  it  seemed  to  me  all 
the  time  that  the  whole  thing  was  a  joke  and  that  it  would 
end  at  once  in  a  laugh.  I  thought  of  the  cold  and  cheerless 
surface  of  the  moon,  comparing  it  in  my  mind  with  the 
delectable  world  we  were  leaving,  and  had  no  reli-sh  for  the 
proposed  trip.  Something  of  my  feeling  must  have  been 
reflected  in  my  countenance,  for  Zenith,  who  had  been 
looking  at  me,  said  in  a  sympathetic  tone  : 

"  Although  you  gave  your  consent,  you  look  as  if  you  did 
not  enjoy  the  prospect  of  another  visit  to  the  moon." 

Thorwald  heard  this  remark,  and  after  a  glance  at  me 
he  said  : 

"  You  are  right,  Zenith,  and  I  think  we  will  abandon  the 
idea  at  once.  We  started  out  to-day  for  the  purpose  of 
entertaining  the  doctor  and  his  friend,  and  it  would  not 
become  us  to  treat  them  to  more  of  a  ride  than  they 
desire." 

"You  are  both  excellent  mind  readers,"  I  responded. 
"  And  if  I  were  as  honest  as  you  Martians  are,  I  suppose  I 
should  have  said  in  the  first  place  that  I  preferred  not  to 
make  such  an  extended  journey.  I  suspect  the  doctor  is 
willing  to  go  ahead,  as  he  is  too  sensible  to  be  affected  by 
such  a  feeling  as  now  moves  me.  My  thoughts  turn  back 
to  our  dejDarture  from  the  earth  in  a  balloon,  and  I  cannot 


AGAIN    THE    MOON.  I93 

rid  my  mind  of  the  dreadful  fear  that  perhaps  we  are  now 
unconsciously  bidding  a  long  farewell  to  Mars." 

Thorwald  thanked  me  for  my  frankness  and  said  they 
should  certainly  respect  my  sentiment.  He  then  stepped  to 
Foedric's  side  to  speak  to  him  in  regard  to  a  change  of 
course.  At  that  moment  I  looked  at  the  moon,  which 
had  been  rapidly  approaching  us.  What  was  it  that  sud- 
denly gave  it  a  deeper  interest  to  me?  A  flash  of  intelli- 
gence suffused  my  being  like  an  electric  shock,  filling  my 
imagination  with  the  most  beautiful  vision  and  making  the 
moon  appear  to  me  now  as  the  one  desirable  place  in  all 
the  universe. 

"  Thorwald,"  I  exclaimed,  "  keep  right  on  !  I  want  to 
go  now.     I  have  changed  my  mind." 

"  Yes,"  he  responded,  looking  at  me  with  a  pleased 
smile,  ''  and  I  see  you  have  changed  your  face,  too.  You 
look  like  quite  another  man.  Why  this  sudden  transi- 
tion?" 

"  Don't  you  know?     Mona  is  there." 

"Where?" 

"  In  the  moon,  of  course." 

"  How  do  you  know  that?  You  seem  to  be  pretty  con- 
fident." 

"  Why,  she  must  be  there.  You  couldn't  find  her  on 
land  or  water,  and  you  know  you  have  no  accidents  in 
Mars,  so  she  could  not  have  come  to  any  harm  there.  I 
know  we  shall  find  her  in  the  moon.  She  must  have  been 
left  behind  in  some  way  when  the  doctor  and  I  were  thrown 
off,  and  now  she  is  no  doubt  expecting  us  to  come  back  to 
her.     Oh,  let  us  make  haste." 

*' Well,"  answered  Thorwald,  "we  were  only  waiting 
your  consent,  and  we  can  now  keep  on  as  we  are  going  and 
try  to  reach  the  moon.  But  I  must  give  you  a  friendly 
13 


194  DAYBREAK. 

warning  not  to  let  your  hope  get  the  better  of  your  judg- 
ment in  regard  to  finding  your  friend." 

With  this  Thorwald  and  Foedric  consulted  a  moment, 
and  at  once  our  speed  increased  till  we  were  flying  at  a 
fearful  rate,  but  none  too  fast  for  me.  I  knew  now  why  I 
had  been  so  reluctant  to  go  so  far  away  from  Mars.  It  was 
because  I  thought  Alona  was  there ;  but  now,  with  my  pres- 
ent opinion,  the  moon  had  suddenly  changed  its  character 
and  become  to  my  imagination  a  bright  and  beautiful 
world.  To  such  a  degree  does  love  transform  the  most 
unlovely  objects. 

I  was  struck  with  the  easy  way  in  which  Zenith  had 
accepted  the  result  of  what  I  thought  her  sportive  sugges- 
tion, and,  not  being  able  to  fathom  her  thoughts,  I  said  to 
her  : 

"  When  we  left  home,  this  morning,  you  did  not  expect 
to  be  gone  over  night.  Have  you  no  anxiety  about  the 
house  and  the  children?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  replied  ;  "  the  house  will  not  nm  away,  nor 
the  children  either.  We  do  not  often  stay  away  from  them 
over  night,  but  we  do  not  hesitate  to  do  so  when  we  have  a 
good  reason  for  it.  Our  children  know  us  well  enough  to 
be  sure  we  have  such  a  reason  now,  and  this  faith  in  us  and 
in  our  safe  return  will  permit  us  to  stay  away  as  long  as  we 
please.  As  for  our  feelings,  we  have  no  such  thing  as  anxi- 
ety, for  all  our  experience  teaches  us  that  no  harm  of  any 
kind  can  come  to  our  loved  ones.  I  suppose  in  such  cir- 
cumstances on  the  earth  both  the  mother  and  the  children 
would  have  a  feeling  of  great  fear,  caused  by  the  fact  that 
there  would  be  in  reality  some  danger  of  harm,  but  here  we 
have  never  heard  of  such  a  thing,  and  even  the  word  '  dan- 
ger'  has  little  meaning  in  it  to  us,  because  all  we  know 
about  it  comes  from  our  reading." 


AGAIN    THE    MOON.  195 

The  moon  was  now  well  above  us,  and  we  were  making  for 
a  point  in  the  western  sky  where  Foedric  hoped  to  inter- 
cept it.  We  were  already  so  far  from  the  planet  that  the 
air  was  getting  weak,  so  we  all  put  on  breathing  machines. 
These  were  of  such  perfect  construction  that  our  lungs  had 
free  play,  nor  were  they  cumbersome  enough  to  interfere 
much  with  our  movements. 

By  this  time  the  moon  had  grown  so  vastly,  owing  to  our 
swift  traveling,  that  our  friends  began  to  be  amazed  at  its 
enormous  proportions.  The  jagged,  mountainous  surface 
was  plainly  visible,  a  most  uninviting  place  for  people 
accustomed  to  the  serene  beauty  and  felicity  of  the  planet 
Mars. 

"  Remember,"  said  the  doctor,  "  that  you  are  not  to 
judge  the  earth  by  what  you  see  of  her  old  satellite." 

"  Well,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  we  mean  to  see  what  we 
can  of  the  satellite.  Foedric,  let  us  point  the  glass  at  it 
and  be  selecting  a  place  to  land." 

But  Foedric  was  obliged  to  let  Thorwald  handle  the  glass 
alone,  for  his  attention  was  needed  just  now  to  manage  our 
craft.  He  had  discovered  that  shutting  off  the  power  did 
not  diminish  the  speed,  and  for  a  moment  he  was  puzzled, 
quite  a  new  sensation  for  a  Martian  of  that  era.  But  he 
soon  studied  out  the  difficulty  and  made  the  following 
announcement : 

"  I  find  this  huge  mass  that  we  are  approaching  is  pull- 
ing us  toward  its  surface,  so  that  we  are  using  but  little 
power.  I  expect  in  a  short  time  we  can  merely  fall  to  its 
surface." 

This  suggested  to  Thorwald  the  very  trouble  that  the 
doctor  and  I  had  encountered  with  our  balloon,  and  he 
asked  Foedric  if  we  could  get  away  again  after  we  had 
dropped  to  the  moon. 


196  DAYBREAK. 

"Yes,"  Fcedric  answered,  "I  am  sure  we  have  power 
enough  here  to  overcome  the  attraction  and  get  away  when- 
ever we  please." 

Thorwald,  who  had  been  intently  studying  the  surface 
through  the  telescope,  now  spoke  out  with  some  excite- 
ment in  his  voice  : 

"  Doctor,  I  begin  to  think  you  did  not  make  a  thorough 
investigation  of  the  moon's  condition.  Did  you  not  report 
it  practically  uninhabited?  " 

"  Our  means  of  investigation  were  rather  limited," 
replied  the  doctor,  "  but  we  surely  found  no  inhabitants 
except  poor  Mona,  whom,  I  am  confident,  we  shall  never 
see  again.  Why  do  you  ask?  Are  there  any  signs  of  life 
visible?  I  have  no  doubt  you  Martians  can  see  more 
at  this  distance  than  we  could  when  standing  on  the  globe 
itself." 

"Well,"  Thorwald  answered,  "either  you  reached 
wrong  conclusions  or  else  a  race  has  grown  up  there  pretty 
rapidly.  I  cannot  make  out  anything  definite  yet,  but 
there  is  smoke,  I  am  sure,  and  I  can  see  some  object  mov- 
ing about." 

I  had  great  difficulty  in  restraining  my  feelings  as  Thor- 
wald uttered  these  words,  but  neither  he  nor  the  doctor 
seemed  to  realize  what  significance  they  had  for  me.  Both 
had  apparently  given  up  all  expectation  of  finding  Mona 
anywhere,  and  these  evidences  of  life,  so  plain  to  me,  were 
therefore  inexplicable  to  them.  I  controlled  myself  and 
begged  Thorwald  to  let  me  look  through  the  glass.  He 
adjusted  it  for  me,  but  before  I  could  get  a  satisfactory 
view  our  swift  motion  made  such  a  change  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  surface  that  Thorwald  could  not  find  the  same 
spot  again. 

As  no  one  said  a  word   to  indicate  any  thought  of  con- 


AGAIN    THE    MOON.  I97 

necting  Mona  with  the  movements  that  Thonvald  had  ob- 
served, I  determined  that  I  would  keep  quiet  also  and  await 
the  result  of  our  landing.  I  let  my  thoughts  fly  to  my  love, 
who,  without  doubt,  had  seen  the  approach  of  our  air  ship 
and  was  expecting  our  speedy  arrival.  What  an  addition 
she  would  make  to  our  party,  and  how  these  Martians 
would  study  her  history  as  she  recounted  it  in  that  exquisite 
voice.  But  I  should  claim  a  large  share  of  her  time  for  my- 
self. How  glad  I  was  to  think  that  Foedric  had  so  openly 
shown  his  afi^ection  for  Antonia.  Surely  I  need  not  harbor 
the  jealous  feeling  that  would  arise,  for  so  true  a  son  of 
Mars  could  not  fall  to  the  level  of  some  earthly  men,  and 
be  unfaithful  to  so  noble  a  girl  as  Antonia.  It  was  beyond 
all  reason,  and  yet  my  love  for  Mona,  whom  I  thought  we 
were  soon  to  find,  was  such  that  I  undesignedly  but  still 
unmistakably  made  up  my  mind  to  keep  a  close  watch  on 
handsome  Foedric. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 


WE    SEARCH    FOR    MONA. 


We  were  indeed  approaching  the  surface  with  great 
rapidity,  and  Foedric  was  obliged  to  put  on  power  to  pre- 
vent us  from  falling  too  swiftly.  Fortunately  he  was  able 
to  keep  our  ship  under  perfect  management,  and  so,  with- 
out accident  or  even  a  shock,  he  brought  us  gently  to  land, 
not  far  from  the  spot  where  Thorwald  had  seen  the  signs  of 
life.  It  was  something  new  for  the  latter  to  show  so  much 
curiosity,  but  he  could  not  be  more  eager  than  I  was  to 
attempt  to  find  out  what  we  had  seen  through  the  telescope. 
So,  leaving  the  rest  of  the  party,  we  two  started  out  to 
investigate.  It  was  kind  of  Thonvald  to  take  me  along, 
because  he  could  ordinarily  walk  a  great  deal  faster  without 
me,  but  my  love  and  hope  now  added  wings  to  my  feet 
and  I  surprised  him  with  my  agility. 

Thorwald's  skill  in  determining  locality  enabled  him  to 
choose  the  right  direction,  and  after  quite  a  walk  we  ascended 
a  considerable  hill,  from  which  we  were  delighted  to  dis- 
cover in  the  distance  a  small  column  of  smoke — a  remark- 
able sight  on  that  sterile  shore.  We  hastened  toward  it, 
Thorwald  with  high  expectations  of  an  important  discovery, 
and  I  with  a  heart  beating  with  joyful  anticipations  of  a 
different  character. 

As  we  approached  the  spot  of  such  intense  interest  for 
us  both,  I  watched  my  companion  closely  to  see  how  he 


WE    SEARCH    FOR    MONA.  I99 

would  bear  the  disappointment  which  I  felt  sure  awaited 
him;  and  this,  I  think,  made  it  a  little  easier  for  me  to 
endure  my  own  grief,  for,  of  course,  I  was  disappointed,  too. 
I  ought  to  have  known  better  than  to  expect  to  find  Mona 
out  on  the  bleak  surface,  when  she  had  such  a  comfortable 
home  inside  the  moon.  What  we  found  at  the  end  of  our 
journey  was  merely  another  party  of  Martians,  who  had 
stolen  a  march  on  us  and  made  a  prior  invasion  of  the  moon. 
But  so  unselfish  were  they  that  when  they  saw  our  ship  afar 
off  they  began  to  make  a  smudge  and  smoke  in  order  to 
attract  our  attention  and  give  us  the  opportunity  of  sharing 
with  them  the  glory  of  their  anticipated  discoveries.  They 
were  pleased  with  our  success  in  finding  them,  and  proposed 
that  we  join  our  forces  in  a  common  camp.  So,  leaving 
me,  Thorwald  returned  for  the  rest  of  our  party,  and  in  due 
time  we  were  all  together,  conversing  on  the  footing  of  old 
acquaintances.  The  moon  had  improved  somewhat  since 
we  knew  it,  as  everything  must  which  remains  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  planet  Mars,  but  it  was  not  yet,  as  far  as  the  out- 
side, at  least,  was  concerned,  a  desirable  place  for  a  long 
sojourn. 

Our  new  friends  had,  unlike  us,  started  from  home  with 
the  intention  of  making  the  attempt  to  land  on  the  moon, 
and,  having  come  prepared  with  tools  for  a  little  scientific 
work,  had  already  begun  investigating,  with  a  view  to  finding 
out  whether  the  moon  contained  any  vestiges  of  life.  They 
had  heard  of  the  doctor  and  me  and  the  outlines  of  our 
story,  but  now  we  had  to  relate  to  them  in  detail  all  our 
experience  on  the  moon,  while  I  concluded  my  part  of  the 
narration  with  the  statement  of  my  firm  conviction  that 
Mona  was  still  in  her  quiet  refuge,  waiting  for  us  to  return 
and  rescue  her.  This  interested  them  exceedingly,  and 
they  were  eager  to  join  us  in  searching  for  her. 


200  DAYBREAK. 

The  members  of  our  party,  catching  something  of  my 
hope,  were  ready  to  enter  at  once  upon  this  task,  and  it 
was  decided  to  divide  all  our  forces  into  two  companies, 
one  to  be  led  by  the  doctor  and  the  other  by  me,  and  then 
to  start  in  different  directions  to  try  to  find  the  entrance  to 
that  long  passage  into  the  interior.  As  we  knew  not  on 
what  part  of  the  moon's  surface  we  had  alighted,  we  were 
undertaking  a  bold  piece  of  work,  but  its  apparent  difficulty 
had  no  terrors  for  the  Martians,  and  I  should  not  have 
hesitated  if  the  circumference  of  the  moon  had  been  a 
hundred  times  what  it  was.  As  for  the  doctor,  he  had 
too  much  spirit  to  suggest  any  obstacles. 

We  arranged  a  code  of  signals,  and  agreed  that  if  either 
party  were  successful  the  other  should  be  notified  and  the 
descent  made  only  when  all  had  come  together.  After 
dividing  the  provisions  we  made  our  adieus  and  separated, 
not  knowing  when  we  should  see  one  another  again. 

But,  fortunately,  our  elaborate  preparations  were  not  of 
much  use,  for  before  we  had  been  out  an  hour  the  doctor 
signaled  to  me  that  he  had  found  some  familiar  landmarks. 
This  meant  that  he  was  sure  of  discovering  what  we  were  in 
search  of,  and  accordingly  we  started  at  once  to  rendezvous 
with  his  company.  On  our  arrival  I  recognized,  with  exult- 
ant joy,  the  features  of  the  landscape  which  had  attracted 
the  doctor's  attention.  We  now  led  the  way  with  complete 
assurance,  and  came  at  length  to  the  crater  down  whose  side 
Mona  had  so  strangely  led  us.  The  wind  was  not  so  strong 
now,  but  I  was  none  the  less  eager  to  descend  and  enter  that 
dark  way,  at  the  other  end  of  which  such  happiness  awaited 
me.  By  this  time,  also,  the  whole  party  were  becoming 
enthused  over  the  situation.  When  they  came  to  see,  one 
after  another,  features  which  they  had  heard  us  describe, 
they  acquired  a  personal   interest  which  had  been  impos- 


WE    SEARCH    FOR    MONA.  20I 

sible  before,  and  everyone  began  to  share  my  faith  in  regard 
to  Mona. 

As  we  entered  the  tunnel,  the  doctor  and  myself  still  in 
the  lead,  I  called  Avis  and  asked  her  to  keep  as  near  me  as 
possible. 

"  I  am  flattered,"  she  said,  "  but  what  do  you  want  to 
have  me  do  ?  " 

"  Sing,"  I  answered. 

"  What  for  ?  You  needn't  be  afraid  of  the  dark,  for  we 
can  give  you  light  enough." 

And  at  that  instant  out  flashed  half  a  dozen  lamps  from 
different  members  of  the  party,  a  timely  illustration  of  the 
use  of  their  portable  electricity. 

"  No,  Avis,"  I  said,  "  I  am  not  afraid,  but  I  would  like 
to  recall  something  of  the  sensation  of  our  first  descent  into 
the  moon,  when  we  were  led,  as  you  know,  by  the  sound  of 
beautiful  music.  And  then,  as  we  near  the  end,  Mona  may 
hear  you,  and  that  would  be  a  more  gentle  introduction 
than  if  we  should  burst  upon  her  unannounced.  I  know  she 
is  not  subject  to  fear  or  the  usual  emotions  to  which  I  have 
been  accustomed  on  the  earth,  but  still  I  think  she  would  like 
to  have  us  come  back  to  her  heralded  by  your  noble  song." 

Seeing  how  serious  I  was  in  the  matter,  Avis  promised  to 
do  as  I  wished,  only  suggesting  that  all  the  rest  should 
join  her  from  time  to  time.  So,  without  any  unpleasant 
incident,  we  traversed  the  long  passage,  walking  rapidly  by 
the  aid  of  the  light  and  conversing  about  our  interesting 
situation.  It  was  a  rare  and  pleasing  experience  for  the 
doctor  and  me  to  be  showing  these  wise  Martians  something 
new,  and  we  enjoyed  the  novel  sensation  of  watching  their 
excitement.  The  fact  that  we  could  so  satisfactorily  enter- 
tain our  friends  after  their  own  fashion  with  us  was  some- 
thing long  to  be  remembered. 


202  DAYBREAK. 

But  not  another  one  of  all  the  company  had  the  intensity 
of  feeling  which  filled  my  breast.  Knowing  that  every 
downward  step  was  leading  me  rapidly  toward  a  determina- 
tion of  my  fate,  I  could  scarcely  control  my  emotions. 
Either  I  was  soon  to  find  my  heart's  life  and  be  raised  to 
the  highest  pinnacle  of  happiness,  or  I  was  to  undergo  a 
disappointment  from  which  I  might  not  recover.  For  if 
Mona  was  not  here,  where  could  I  look  for  her?  Could 
I  ever  regain  my  hopeful  spirits  if  I  should  lose  her  now? 
I  tried  to  crowd  out  these  dark  forebodings  by  thinking  of 
my  love  and  trying  to  picture  the  scene  in  the  midst  of 
which  we  should  discover  her. 

At  length  we  were  drawing  near  the  end.  The  path 
was  growing  wider,  which  proved  to  the  doctor  and  me  that 
we  should  soon  emerge  into  the  open  village.  Indeed,  a 
faint  gleam  of  light  was  beginning  to  be  seen  far  in  the 
front.  We  now  ])ushed  on  more  rapidly,  and  as  we  ap- 
proached the  exit  Avis  was  singing  at  her  highest  pitch.  She 
stopped  suddenly,  and  then  a  low  and  distant  strain  came  to 
us,  sweet  even  to  the  ears  of  our  cultured  friends  from  Mars. 
My  heart  beat  wildly  as  Thorwald,  who  was  close  behind 
us,  exclaimed  : 

"  Hark,  hear  the  echo  !  " 

"  Ho  !  "  I  cried,  "  that's  not  an  echo.  That's  the  orig- 
inal, and  Avis  is  the  echo.     Sing  out  again,  Avis." 

A  loud,  clear  note  trembled  on  the  air,  and  brought  back 
to  our  straining  sense,  not  a  repetition  of  itself  but  a  snatch 
of  varied  melody  which  showed  it  to  be  no  echo,  although 
evidently  an  answer.  There  have  been  few  moments  in  my 
life  more  crowded  with  happiness  than  that  one.  And  it 
was  not  a  passive  feeling  of  enjoyment,  but  one  that  spurred 
me  to  action.  The  swift  pace  which  we  had  all  by  this 
time  reached  was  now  too  slow  for  me.     Seized  again  by 


WE    SEARCH    FOR    MONA.  203 

the  same  fierce  passion  which  took  possession  of  me  at  my 
first  acquaintance  with  Mona's  voice,  I  started  in  her  direc- 
tion on  a  run,  flinging  aside  everything  that  might  impede 
me,  so  overmastered  was  I  by  my  desire  to  see  her. 

But  my  unreasonable  haste  brought  me  a  grievous  reward. 
I  leaped  over  the  ground  with  great  rapidity  for  a  few  min- 
utes, and  then,  stepping  on  a  treacherous  stone,  turned 
my  ankle  and  fell  heavily  to  the  ground,  my  head,  thrust 
forward  in  running,  being  the  first  point  of  contact  with 
the  cruel  rocks. 

I  returned  to  consciousness  by  degrees.  My  faithful  ears 
were,  as  usual,  the  first  friends  to  renew  acquaintance  with 
me,  and  the  sound  they  brought  was  so  soothing  that  I 
wished  for  nothing  more  than  to  remain  as  I  was,  ears 
only,  and  listen  to  it  forever.  But  this  was  impossible,  as 
I  was  slowly  recovering  my  other  senses  and  becoming  a 
thinking  being  once  more.  I  now  recognized  the  pleasant 
sound  as  the  music  of  a  familiar  voice ;  yes,  it  was  Mona's 
voice  in  conversation.  I  was  sure  of  that,  but  it  seemed  so 
natural  that  I  was  not  startled.  I  felt  that  I  must  remain 
perfectly  quiet,  or  the  spell  would  be  broken  and  the  music 
cease.  Then  I  began  to  wonder  where  I  was  and  who  were 
with  me.  I  recalled  the  circumstances  of  our  descent  into 
the  moon  and  my  fall  as  I  was  running  to  meet  Mona.  My 
mind  was  active,  but  I  feared  that  I  was  physically  weak,  for 
I  did  not  seem  to  have  even  a  desire  to  move.  I  wanted 
to  see  the  face  of  the  dear  girl,  and  it  is  remarkable  that  I 
did  not  open  my  eyes  at  once  and  call  her  by  name.  But 
I  was  not  in  a  natural  state.  The  feeling  was  not  suffi- 
ciently strong  to  move  me  to  action.  I  was  just  conscious 
enough  to  be  passively  happy,  content  to  lie  there  quietly 
and  enjoy  one  thing  at  a  time. 

Hitherto   I   had  not   tried  to  distinguish  the  words,  so 


204  DAYBREAK. 

satisfied  was  I  with  the  exquisite  tones,  but  now  my  atten- 
tion was  compelled  by  this  yellow  expression  : 

"  So  I  understand  you  to  say  he  would  not  give  me  up  as 
lost?" 

It  was  the  pink  voice  of  Zenith  that  answered  : 

"  No,  indeed.  He  never  faltered  in  his  faith  that  you 
would  be  found.  You  owe  it  to  him  that  you  can  soon 
leave  this  worn-out  world  with  us,  and  we  are  indebted  to 
him  for  giving  us  such  a  dear  friend." 

"  And  he  admired  my  singing?  "  said  Mona  in  a  question- 
ing tone. 

"  Yes,  and  everything  pertaining  to  you.  He  never  tired 
of  rehearsing  your  perfections,  and  the  doctor  tells  us  he 
loved  you  from  the  very  first.  He  certainly  seems  most 
devoted  to  you.     I  hope,  my  dear,  that  you  love  him." 

I  was  now  recovered  enough  to  feel  some  compunctions 
about  listening  further  to  this  conversation,  but  that  is  not 
saying  that  I  had  any  great  desire  to  stop  listening.  I 
knew  that  in  Mona's  answer  to  Zenith's  implied  question 
lay  my  fate,  and  my  moral  doubts  were  not  strong  enough 
to  make  me  do  anything  to  keep  it  back.  It  has  been  said 
on  the  earth  that  people  who  surreptitiously  hear  themselves 
spoken  of  are  never  pleased,  but  things  must  be  quite  differ- 
ent inside  the  moon,  for,  without  a  shadow  of  hesitation 
and  in  the  sweetest  air  that  ever  floated  from  her  lips,  came 
Mona's  answer : 

"  Love  him?  Certainly  I  love  him.  Why  should  I  not? 
I  loved  him  when  he  was  here  before,  and  I  should  be  very 
ungrateful  if  I  did  not  care  a  great  deal  more  for  him  when 
I  know  what  he  has  done  for  me,  and  that  he  now  lies  here 
suffering  for  my  sake." 

"  Oh,  Mona,"  I  said  to  myself,  "  if  this  be  suffering,  let 
me  never  know  happiness." 


WE    SEARCH    FOR    MONA.  205 

Zenith  began  to  speak  again,  when  she  was  interrupted  by 
the  opening  of  a  door.  I  heard  someone  walk  towards  me, 
and  then  the  doctor's  voice  broke  the  silence. 

"  How  is  he,  Mona?     Is  there  any  change?  " 

"No,"  replied  my  beloved,  "he  hasn't  stirred  nor 
shown  a  sign  of  consciousness.  Cannot  something  more  be 
done  for  him?  " 

I  was  becoming  a  little  hardened  in  my  guilt  by  this  time, 
and,  although  my  strength  seemed  now  to  be  returning  to 
me,  I  decided  to  keep  still  yet  longer  and  hear  what  words 
of  wisdom  the  doctor  would  utter  on  my  case. 

"  I  know  of  nothing  that  can  be  done,"  he  said.  "  He 
received  no  injury  except  the  wound  on  his  head,  and  that, 
apparently,  is  not  serious.  Time  is  the  great  healer  in  such 
cases.  My  chief  fear  is  that  when  he  recovers  conscious- 
ness we  will  find  his  memory  is  defective,  as  it  was  after 
his  plunge  into  your  ocean.  Zenith.  He  will  doubtless  for- 
get how  we  ever  got  into  this  strange  place,  and  I  am  almost 
sure  he  will  not  recognize  Mona,  for  that  was  the  direction 
in  which  he  failed  before." 

"  But  you  forget,"  said  Zenith,  "  that  Mona  herself  will 
be  here  to  sing  for  him." 

"  I  fear  not  even  that  will  recall  his  wandering  wits  this 
time.  You  know  he  is  more  badly  hurt  than  before.  I 
dislike  to  cause  you  pain,  Mona,  but  I  must  be  frank  and 
tell  you  that  our  friend  will  probably  never  know  you 
again." 

One  would  naturally  expect  Mona  to  have  burst  into  tears 
at  this  hopeless  prospect,  but  instead  of  that  she  sang  out, 
as  joyously  as  ever  : 

"  Never  mind  me,  Doctor.  Only  restore  him  to  health 
and  happiness,  and  it  will  be  of  little  moment  whether  he 
remembers  me  or  not.     No  one  knows  better  than  vou  do 


2o6  DAYBREAK. 

that  I  am  always  happy.  That's  why  I  am  singing  all  the 
time." 

Such  unselfishness  as  this  was  more  than  I  could  appre- 
ciate, and  rather  more,  I  thought,  than  was  called  for  by 
the  circumstances.  How  could  she  love  me  so,  and  still 
not  care  if  I  never  were  to  know  her  again?  Was  she  the 
same  Mona,  after  all,  who  had  so  provokingly  eluded  my 
love  during  my  former  visit?  These  reflections  caused  me 
to  decide  to  come  to  life,  and  claim  her  as  mine  before  she 
resigned  all  her  interest  in  me. 

So,  opening  my  eyes  and  looking  in  her  face,  I  said,  as 
quietly  as  possible  : 

"  I  do  remember  you,  dear  Mona,  and  shall  never  forget 
you.     Doctor,  you  see  your  science  has  proved  false  again." 

"  And  glad  indeed  I  am  that  it  has,"  he  rejoined,  "  since 
it  is  so  greatly  to  our  advantage." 

Then  they  all  gathered  around  me,  and  called  the  others  to 
a  general  rejoicing  over  my  sudden  recovery.  My  physical 
injury  was  but  slight,  and  it  was  not  long  before  my  stupor 
was  entirely  gone  and  I  was  moving  about  again.  Aside 
from  the  finding  of  Mona,  many  other  things  in  this  place 
of  her  abode  interested  the  different  members  of  our  party. 
All  were  jubilant  over  the  new  opportunities  for  study  and 
investigation,  and  they  promised  themselves  the  pleasure 
of  many  more  visits  to  the  place  in  the  future.  They  had 
now  seen  enough  for  once,  and  all  wanted  to  join  in  the 
agreeable  task  of  escorting  Mona  to  Mars  and  introducing 
her  there.  So,  without  more  delay,  we  ascended  to  the 
surface  once  more,  found  our  air  ships  in  good  order,  and 
soon  sailed  away,  leaving  the  moon  without  an  inhabitant. 

Our  friends  from  the  antipodes  landed  with  us,  and  re- 
mained some  days  before  reembarking  for  home. 

During  our  \oyage  down  there  was  a  general  agreement  to 


WE    SEARCH    FOR    MONA.  207 

give  me  plenty  of  opportunity  to  remain  in  Mona's  immedi- 
ate company,  ttiough  no  one  seemed  to  think  we  need  feel 
at  all  embarrassed  when  our  conversation  was  overheard  by 
others. 

"  Mona,"  I  said,  "  were  you  glad  to  see  our  relief  party 
when  they  arrived?  " 

"  I  was  indeed,"  she  replied,  "  and  yet  I  was  as  happy 
as  a  bird,  living  there  all  by  myself  and  singing  for  my  o\vn 
amusement  the  whole  day  long." 

"  It  is  an  astonishing  thing  to  me,"  I  continued,  "  that 
after  the  doctor  and  I  had  left  you  so  unceremoniously  you 
could  go  back  to  your  lonely  home  and  be  happy  there." 

"  Why,  did  you  think  I  would  mourn  for  you?  " 

"  Well,  yes,  I  think  that  would  be  natural,  considering 
something  I  know." 

"  Oh,  I  should  like  to  hear  what  you  know." 

"  If  I  tell  you,  I  shall  have  to  make  a  confession." 

"  \\'hat  is  a  confession,  and  how  can  you  make  one? 
Have  you  anything  to  make  it  of  ?  " 

"Oh,  yes,"  I  replied,  laughing.  "A  confession  is  an 
acknowledgment  that  one  has  done  something  wrong,  and 
should  be  made  to  the  person  to  whom  the  wrong  has  been 
done." 

"  Well,"  said  Mona,  "  if  that  is  it,  I  am  sure  I  shall  never 
have  to  make  one,  for  I  have  never  done  anything  wrong." 

This  agreed  so  well  with  my  conception  of  her  that  I  did 
not  then  take  in  the  full  meaning  of  her  words,  but  said  in 
reply  : 

"  But  I  have,  and  this  is  one  thing  :  when  you  were  talk- 
ing to  Zenith  about  me  and  thought  I  was  unconscious  I 
was  recovering,  and  lay  quite  still  so  as  to  hear  what  you 
said." 

"  And  did  I  say  anything  to  displease  you?  " 


2o8  DAYBREAK. 

"  No,  indeed;  you  said  you  loved  me,  and  it  made  me 
very  happy." 

"  Oil,  I  remember  now.  Zenith  said  she  hoped  I  loved 
you,  and  I  told  her  I  did.  I  have  always  loved  you,  of 
course,  but  I  don't  see  how  that  can  make  you  happy." 

"That's  singular,"  I  answered.  "I  should  think  you 
would  understand  my  feeling  from  your  own.  But  never 
mind.  You  and  I  will  be  lovers  from  this  time  forth,  and 
give  the  people  of  Mars  an  example  of  devotion  worth  con- 
sidering, will  we  not?  " 

"  You  do  make  the  funniest  speeches,"  she  replied.  "  I 
don't  know  half  the  time  what  you  mean.  But  I  am  getting 
tired  of  sitting  so  long.  Here  is  Antonia.  You  talk  to  her 
about  love,  and  I'll  go  over  and  see  Fcedric." 

The  lightness  of  her  manner,  when  I  was  so  deeply  in 
earnest,  gave  me  a  feeling  of  uneasiness,  which  was  increased 
when  I  saw  her  easy,  familiar  way  with  Fcedric  and  heard 
her  merry  song  as  she  chatted  with  him.  I  was  not  very 
pleasant  company  for  Antonia,  for  I  could  not  prevent  a 
return  of  that  dreadful  jealousy.  I  wondered  if  this  was 
always  to  be  the  history  of  my  wooing — an  hour  of  the 
supremest  happiness,  followed  so  speedily  by  a  period  of 
such  anguish.  I  could  not  possibly  talk  on  any  other  sub- 
ject, and  so  I  said  to  Antonia  : 

"  They  seem  well  pleased  with  each  other's  society. 
Are  you  not  afraid  Foedric  will  lose  his  heart  to  her?  " 

"  My  friend,"  she  replied,  "  we  never  even  think  of  such 
things  as  that.  I  hope  you  are  not  serious  in  asking  the 
question." 

"  Forgive  me,  Antonia,"  I  answered;  "I  hardly  know 
what  I  am  saying." 

And  then  I  rose  and  followed  Mona,  and  said  to  her  when 
I  came  near  : 


WE    SEARCH    FOR    MONA.  209 

"  Well,  my  dear,  what  do  you  and  Foedric  find  so  pleas- 
ant to  talk  about?  " 

"  Why,  you  see,"  she  replied,  "  Foedric  was  the  first  one 
to  find  me  after  you  were  hurt,  and  has  been  very  kind  to 
me  since,  and  I  have  just  been  telling  him  I  love  him.  You 
said  it  made  you  happy  to  hear  me  say  it  to  you,  and  I 
wanted  to  make  him  happy  too.  And  then  I  wanted  to  see 
if  Foedric  would  make  such  funny  speeches  as  you  did." 

I  controlled  myself  enough  to  ask  : 

"  And  what  did  Foedric  say?  " 

"  Why,  his  answer  made  me  laugh  more  than  yours  did. 
He  said  it  would  make  you  unhappy  to  know  I  had  said 
such  a  thing  to  him.  I  replied  that  I  would  tell  you  myself, 
and  that  you  were  always  happy  when  I  said  anything  to 
you;  and  then  you  came  up  just  in  time." 

"  Now,  Mona,  do  you  think  it  is  right  to  make  sport  of 
such  a  serious  matter  ?  ' ' 

"  I  assure  you  I  am  in  earnest  in  all  I  have  said." 

'*  Then  are  you  trying  to  deceive  Foedric?  " 

"  Deceive  him?     What  is  that?  " 

"  Telling  him  what  isn't  true." 

"  No,  indeed.     I  would  never  do  that." 

*'  It  is  true,  then,  that  you  love  him?  " 

"Certainly  it  is;  isn't  it,  Foedric?" 

I  did  not  wait  for  Foedric  to  answer,  but  continued  : 

"  And  still  a  short  time  ago  you  said  you  loved  me." 

"  Well,  is  that  any  wonder,  after  what  you  have  done  for 
me?" 

"  But  do  you  love  us  both  at  once?  " 

"I  do." 

"  And  do  you  love  Foedric  as  much  as  you  do  me?  " 

"Certainly.     Why  shouldn't  I?     And  now  let  me  ask 
you  a  question.     Do  you  love  me?  " 
14 


2IO  '  DAYBREAK. 

"  With  all  ray  heart." 

"  Then  why  do  you  bother  me  so,  asking  all  these  ques- 
tions, and  saying  things  I  don't  understand?  You  appear 
to  be  surprised  to  find  that  I  love  Foedric.  Why,  I  love 
everybody.  What  am  I  going  to  do,  if  I  cannot  love  people 
as  much  as  I  want  to  ?  " 

"  You  shall,  Mona,"  I  replied,  with  a  sudden  softening 
of  my  heart  toward  her.  "  I  was  only  going  to  suggest 
that,  if  you  love  Foedric,  Antonia  may  not  like  you  so 
well." 

Foedric  began  to  protest  that  Antonia  would  not  care, 
but  Mona  went  right  on  with  : 

"  Another  complication.  What  possible  difference  could 
it  make  to  Antonia?  " 

"  Why,  Antonia  and  Foedric  love  each  other,  you  know." 

''  Oh,  they  love  each  other,  and  therefore  no  one  else  can 
love  either  of  them.  Is  that  it?  But  you  have  just  been 
talking  with  Antonia.     Don't  you  love  her?  " 

"  Oh,  no,"  I  replied  hastily.  "  Or,  at  any  rate,  not  in 
the  same  way  that  I  love  you." 

''  Not  in  the  same  way.  That's  another  remark  that  I 
can't  see  any  sense  in.  I  must  say  for  myself  that  I  have 
but  one  way  in  which  to  love,  and  that  is  with  my  whole 
heart,  without  reserve  or  qualification.  I  cannot  parcel  out 
my  love,  a  little  to  one,  a  little  more  to  another,  and  soon. 
It  all  goes  out  to  everyone.  I  couldn't  be  happy  if  I  should 
try  to  restrain  it.  I  think  it  must  be  like  this  delicious  sun- 
light, which  I  am  just  beginning  to  enjoy,  an  equal  com- 
fort to  all  who  choose  to  partake  of  it.  I  love  you  dearly. 
What  can  I  do  more?  If  I  love  others,  I  am  not  robbing 
you — -take  all  you  want,  and  then  there  will  be  just  as  much 
left." 

"  Mona,"  I  asked,  as  she  finished,  "  where  did  you  get 


WE    SEARCH    FOR    MONA.  211 

such  a  heart?  You  are  showing  me  how  utterly  selfish  I 
have  been." 

"  Good-by,"  she  exclaimed;  "  I  am  going  back  to  An- 
tonia.     May  I  love  her?  " 

"  You  may  love  everybody,"  I  answered,  as  she  left  me 
with  an  exquisite  note  on  her  lips. 

Foedric  and  I  fell  into  conversation  about  her.  Foedric 
praised  her  to  the  skies,  saying  that,  if  this  were  a  fair  speci- 
men, the  inhabitants  of  the  moon  must  have  been  a  remark- 
able people,  and  that  it  was  unfortunate  that  they  had  so 
nearly  passed  from  the  stage. 

When  I  found  opportunity  to  think  over  the  situation  I 
concluded  that  I  had  given  my  heart  to  a  peculiar  being, 
and  what  had  I  received  in  return?  She  loved  me — that 
was  certain.  But  what  kind  of  love  was  this,  which  had  no 
respect  to  persons?  I  knew  I  could  claim  no  exclusive 
right  to  the  least  corner  of  her  heart,  and  yet  she  said  : 
"All  my  heart  is  yours.  What  more  can  you  ask?  "  I  was 
not  able  to  solve  the  riddle  of  her  mysterious  nature,  but 
as  I  heard  her  tuneful  voice  and  watched  her  beautiful  face 
as  she  talked  with  Antonia,  the  very  picture  of  innocent 
happiness,  I  realized  with  great  intensity  that  I  loved  her 
more  than  ever.  And  I  resolved  to  be  patient,  and  try  to 
lead  her  gradually  into  the  way  of  loving  which  prevailed 
on  the  earth  at  the  time  we  left  it. 

In  due  time  we  landed  on  the  ruddy  planet,  and  there 
was  great  diversion  for  us  all  in  seeing  Mona's  continued 
astonishment  and  in  hearing  her  varied  song. 

It  seemed  almost  like  home  to  enter  Thorwald's  house 
again,  where  we  found  everything  just  as  we  had  left  it. 
The  children  did  not  exhibit  any  astonishment  at  our  long 
absence,  but  were  glad  to  see  us  back  and  eager  to  hear 
about  our  adventures. 


212  DAYBREAK, 

The  next  morning  after  our  arrival  Thorwald  gave  us  a 
long  ride  in  an  electric  carriage  to  show  Mona  the  country. 
Returning,  we  took  her  about  the  large  house  and  were  all 
delighted  to  hear  her  naive  remarks.  At  length  Zenith 
asked  Thorwald  if  he  could  not  think  of  something  that 
would  interest  us  all. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 


THE    PICTURE    TELEGRAPH. 


"Let  us  step  into  the  music  room,"  said  Thorwald. 
*'  Doctor,  what  acquaintance  have  you  with  the  tele- 
phone? " 

**  We  think  we  have  brought  the  telephone  to  a  consider- 
able degree  of  perfection,"  said  the  doctor.  "At  first  it 
was  rather  crude,  and  many  preferred  to  forego  its  use  in 
order  to  escape  its  annoyances.  But  of  recent  years  great 
improvements  have  been  made,  until  its  employment  is 
now  a  pleasure,  as  well  as  an  essential  help  in  our  business 
and  social  life." 

"  Does  it  minister  to  any  other  sense  than  the  hearing?  " 

"  It  does  not,  although  I  have  seen  a  vague  promise 
somewhere  of  an  invention  by  which  we  could  see  an  image 
of  the  person  we  were  speaking  to." 

"  If  that  is  all,  I  shall  be  able  to  give  you  a  pleasant  sur- 
prise," pursued  Thorwald.  "Just  sit  in  those  chairs,  and 
do  nothing  but  keep  your  eyes  open  and  listen." 

We  saw  him  arrange  a  series  of  long  panels,  in  which 
were  elegant  mirrors,  and  then,  as  he  gently  pulled  an 
ivory  knob,  there  fell  upon  our  ears,  very  faintly,  like  dis- 
tant echoes,  strains  of  the  most  delicious  music.  Gradually 
the  tones  became  louder  and  more  defined,  and  Zenith,  with 
a  quick  smile  and  glance,  directed  our  attention  to  the 
opposite  side  of  the  room.     There  our  wondering  eyes  be- 


214  DAYBREAK. 

held  the  orchestra  with  whose  notes  we  were  then  enchanted. 
There  must  have  been  a  hundred  players  or  more,  and  we 
seemed  to  be  looking  upon  them  from  a  distance  which  would 
bring  the  whole  group  within  the  bounds  of  the  room.  It 
was  not  a  picture  thrown  on  a  screen,  but  was  as  if  the  musi- 
cians were  actually  present.  Every  motion  made  with  their 
instruments  was  in  exact  accord  with  the  accompanying  note, 
and,  wherever  this  orchestra  might  have  its  local  habitation, 
it  was  certainly  playing  before  our  little  audience  that 
morning. 

As  the  selection  ended  the  scene  faded  away  under  the 
manipulation  of  Thorwald,  and  in  a  moment  the  room  was 
filled  with  a  harmony  of  voices  such  as  I  had  never  heard 
on  the  earth.  And  now  the  great  chorus  appeared,  crowd- 
ing this  time  three  sides  of  the  apartment  and  rising,  tier 
on  tier,  to  the  ceiling.  We  could  see  the  glad  faces  of  the 
singers  and  knew  how  they  must  be  enjoying  their  work. 
Brilliant  solo  parts  burst  out  from  one  side  and  the  other, 
and  again  from  the  middle  throng,  but  it  was  impossible  to 
tell  from  what  individual  singers  these  notes  came. 

When  this  scene,  too,  had  passed  and  the  music,  all  too 
soon,  had  ceased,  Thorwald  made  haste  to  answer  the  inquiry 
he  saw  in  our  faces  by  saying  : 

"  These  concerts  are  now  being  given  in  two  cities,  both 
of  them  several  thousand  miles  east  of  here,  so  far  that  it  is 
now  afternoon  there.  If  we  desire  music  after  dinner  this 
evening  we  can  make  connection  with  some  city  west  of 
us,  and  by  going  farther  west  we  can  invoke  sweet  sounds  to 
soothe  us  to  sleep.  Being  connected  with  all  the  musical 
centers,  you  can  see  how,  by  trying  either  one  direction  or 
the  other,  we  can  have  something  worth  hearing  at  any  hour 
of  the  day  or  night,  with  the  players  and  singers  themselves 
employed,  of  course,  only  in  the  daytime.     We  have  daily 


THE    PICTURE    TELEGRAPH.  215 

programmes  of  every  concert  sent  us  by  telephone.  They 
are  received  here,  you  see,  and  printed  automatically  on 
these  sheets." 

Zenith  had  watched  us  with  eager  interest  during  this 
marvelous  exhibition.  It  was  a  novel  experience,  for  they 
had  never  before  had  the  opportunity  of  showing  this  per- 
fected invention  to  those  entirely  ignorant  of  it,  and  they 
both  enjoyed  seeing  the  pleasure  which  must  have  beamed 
from  our  faces.  I  wanted  to  say  something,  but  could  think 
of  nothing  fit  for  the  occasion,  and  was  relieved  to  hear  the 
doctor  speak  : 

"  My  good  friends,"  said  he,  "  do  not  try  to  show  us 
anything  beyond  this  or  we  shall  lose  our  mental  balance. 
I  believe  in  fairyland  now,  for  I  have  just  come  from 
there.  I  never  paid  much  attention  to  music  on  the  earth, 
and  did  not  feel  any  shame  for  it  either,  but  I  am  now 
sure  it  will  be  to  my  everlasting  disgrace  if  I  neglect  it 
another  day." 

This  speech  pleased  Zenith  exceedingly,  and  her  emotion 
made  her  voice  and  manner  more  charming  than  ever  as  she 
said  : 

"  If  you  stay  with  us,  Doctor,  you  shall  have  plenty  of 
good  music,  and  you  will  soon  become  not  only  a  music 
lover  but  a  music  maker,  for  every  Martian  is  proficient  in 
this  art." 

"  Do  you  think,"  asked  the  doctor,  "  that  there  is  the 
faintest  hope  that  the  earthly  music  will  ever  reach  the  high 
standard  of  that  we  have  just  heard  ?  ' ' 

"  Thorwald  has  told  me  something  of  your  history," 
Zenith  replied,  "  and  I  share  his  strong  faith  in  your  happy 
destiny.  It  seems  to  me  that  your  race  is  equal  to  any 
achievement  you  have  witnessed  here,  and  even  greater 
things,  but  it  will  take  much  time.     Such  changes  are  very 


2l6  DAYBREAK. 

slow.  As  for  us,  we  hope  we  are  still  making  advancement 
in  music.  We  have  few  higher  employments,  and  hardly 
one  in  which  we  are  more  entirely  engrossed.  It  was  given 
to  us  at  an  early  stage  of  our  development,  and  all  through 
our  troubled  course  music  has  been  one  of  the  chief  influ- 
ences for  good.  It  has  helped  to  keep  hope  alive  during 
the  darkest  periods  of  our  history,  and  has  always  been  a 
mighty  incentive  toward  a  higher  spiritual  state.  As  your 
race  advances  I  am  sure  you  will  realize  more  and  more  the 
beauty  and  value  of  this  art,  heaven-born  and  exhaustless." 

We  all  smiled  at  Zenith's  happy  assurance  that  the  earth 
was  on  the  upward  path,  and  Thorwald  said  : 

"You  see  hope  is  contagious.  But  as  we  have  been 
through  all  your  present  troubles  and  have  triumphed  over 
them,  it  is  perhaps  easier  for  us  to  believe  in  you  than  for 
you  to  believe  in  yourselves. 

"And  now,  should  you  like  to  see  how  the  telephone 
works  in  every-day  matters?  " 

On  our  replying  in  the  affirmative,  Thorwald  turned  a 
switch,  waited  a  moment,  turned  it  again,  and  then  there 
appeared  before  our  eyes  a  familiar  object,  nothing  less  than 
the  ship  in  which  we  had  made  our  recent  voyage.  A  num- 
ber of  the  men,  whom  we  recognized,  were  walking  about 
the  deck,  and  one  stood  apart,  near  the  side  of  the  vessel, 
conversing  with  Thorwald,  the  words  of  both  being  audible 
to  us.  When  they  were  through,  the  scene  faded  away  and 
Thorwald  said  : 

"  As  soon  as  the  ship  reached  its  dock  connection  was 
made  with  the  general  system  of  wires,  and  the  instrument, 
which  is  stationed  near  the  place  where  the  man  was  stand- 
ing, was  ready  for  use. 

"  So,  whenever  we  desire  to  talk  to  our  friends,  we  sum- 
mon them  to  our  presence.     You  see  it  is  not  necessary  to 


THE    PICTURE    TELEGRAPH.  217 

speak  directly  into  the  transmitter.  We  can  sit  comfort- 
ably in  our  chairs  and  converse  as  easily  as  when  our 
friends  are  actually  present." 

"  Let  me  ask  you,  Thorvvald,"  said  the  doctor,  "  how  all 
the  electricity  you  use  is  generated  ?  The  immense  quan- 
tity you  employ  must  necessitate  a  great  deal  of  power  to 
produce  it.  Is  there  a  huge  plant  in  every  city  driven  by 
steam  ? ' ' 

"  No,"  answered  Thorwald.  "  We  make  no  use  of  steam 
in  these  days.  All  the  power  we  need  is  obtained  from 
natural  waterfalls  and  rapids.  This  power,  which  nature 
has  placed  ready  made  at  our  hand,  is  so  abundant  that  it 
can  never  be  exhausted." 

"  These  waterfalls  must  fortunately  be  well  distributed," 
remarked  the  doctor. 

"  Not  more  so,  I  presume,  than  on  the  earth,"  Thorwald 
made  answer.  "  Every  stream  that  runs  in  its  bed  has  in  it 
a  power  proportioned  to  the  volume  of  water  and  the  swift- 
ness of  its  current.  Think  of  the  amount  of  water  wasted 
every  day  in  this  way — no,  not  wasted,  but  unused.  We  do 
not  need,  however,  to  utilize  ordinary  streams,  as  there  are 
enough  great  falls  where  power  is  transformed  into  electric- 
ity to  be  sent  over  wires  to  any  distance  required.  In  every 
city  or  district  large  storage  facilities  are  provided  from 
which  power  can  be  obtained  for  all  possible  purposes. 
Our  beds  of  coal  and  wells  of  oil  were  long  since  exhausted, 
but  while  rain  falls  and  water  runs  this  power  can  never 
fail  us. 

"  Doctor,  what  is  the  best  metal  you  have  for  transmit- 
ting electricity?  " 

"  Copper,"  answered  my  companion.  "  Silver  is  a  little 
better  conductor,  and  a  new  metal,  called  glucinium,  is  bet- 
ter still,  but  both  of  these  are  too  expensive  for  general  use. 


2l8  DAYBREAK. 

Our  telegraph  and  telephone  wires  were  formerly  made  of 
iron  for  the  sake  of  economy,  but  copper  is  now  used  for 
these  lines,  as  well  as  for  distributing  electricity  on  a  large 
scale.  The  copper  wire  now  commonly  used  for  the  telegraph 
has  a  resistance  of  something  like  four  ohms  to  the  mile." 

"  You  are  making  good  progress,"  said  Thorwald.  "  But 
we  have  a  metal  of  such  good  conducting  qualities  that, 
without  making  the  wire  too  large  for  convenient  use,  we 
have  reduced  the  resistance  to  an  ohm  to  the  mile." 

"That  is  an  exceedingly  valuable  metal,"  the  doctor 
said.  "  And  now  let  me  ask  you  a  practical  question. 
You  say  you  draw  your  electricity  for  a  thousand  and  one 
uses  from  a  large  storage  plant  in  each  city.  Do  you  pay 
for  it  by  the  kilowatt,  or  how  is  it  measured?  " 

"  We  ask  for  so  many  watts  or  kilowatts,  and  it  is  also 
measured  by  the  watt  hour.  But  are  you  serious  in  asking 
if  we  pay  for  it?  " 

"  Why,  you  surely  do  not  mean  it  is  given  away,"  ex- 
claimed the  doctor,  "  after  all  the  expense  connected  with 
producing  and  transmitting  it." 

"  Yes,  I  mean  that  whatever  quantity  we  want  to  use  is 
ours  for  the  asking.  Before  we  could  buy  it  some  one 
would  have  to  own  it,  and  that  could  never  be.  Besides, 
how  could  we  buy  anything  without  money?  " 

"  What  !  No  money  either?  "  broke  in  the  doctor  again. 
"  Well,  if  you  can  get  along  without  money,  that  accounts  in 
my  mind  for  much  of  your  happiness.  Just  think  of  that," 
continued  the  doctor,  turning  to  me,  "  to  be  forever  rid  of 
money  and  all  the  trouble  it  brings." 

"  Of  what  value  would  it  be  to  us?  "  asked  Thorwald. 
**  We  could  not  use  it." 

"  Some  of  our  people  on  the  earth,"  replied  the  doctor, 
"  have  oceans  of  it  which  they  cannot  use,  and  still  they 


THE    PICTURE    TELEGRAPH.  219 

seem  to  think  it  is  of  much  value.  It  is  an  inherent  char- 
acteristic of  our  race  to  love  the  mere  possession  of  money 
or  other  property,  and  human  nature  must  change  a  great  deal 
before  we  can  begin  to  reach  the  exalted  moral  condition 
which  you  now  enjoy,  to  say  nothing  of  your  spiritual  state." 

"  Your  nature  will  change,"  said  Thorwald,  "  and  do  not 
doubt  that  the  change  has  already  begun.  Time  is  what 
you  need,  and  there  is  time  enough  for  everything." 

After  the  midday  lunch  had  been  served  we  were  in- 
vited to  take  a  walk  about  the  grounds.  As  the  doctor 
and  I  were  admiring  the  beautiful  lawns  and  gorgeous 
beds  of  flowers,  and  then  stood  enraptured  at  the  sight  of 
the  noble  mansion  itself.  Zenith  watched  us  eagerly,  and 
finally  said,  with  a  smile  : 

"  You  discovered  my  favorite  department  of  art  this  morn- 
ing.    Now  is  a  good  time  to  learn  what  Thorwald's  is." 

"  Judging  from  what  we  have  already  seen  and  heard  of 
your  husband,"  said  I,  "  it  seems  to  me  he  must  be  an  as- 
tronomer, or,  if  not  that,  then  a  theological  professor." 

"  If  he  has  been  talking  to  you  on  either  of  those  sub- 
jects," she  returned,  "  I  have  no  doubt  he  told  you  things 
worth  taking  home  with  you,  but  his  pet  topics  of  study  are 
architecture  and  its  sister  art.  landscape  gardening.  This 
house  is  a  creature  of  his  brain,  and  all  the  artistic  effects 
in  color  and  pattern,  which  I  know  you  have  the  taste  to 
admire,  are  of  his  designing." 

The  simple,  unaffected  manner  in  which  Zenith  showed 
her  pride  in  her  husband's  achievements  was  refreshing,  and 
the  knowledge  she  imparted  only  added  still  more  to  our 
high  appreciation  of  our  friend. 

It  was  now  time  for  Thorwald  to  speak,  and  he  remarked 
quietly : 

"  It  is  true  that  I  love  architecture.     It  is  another  occu- 


220  DAYBREAK. 

pation  of  which  we  can  never  tire  and  whose  resources  we 
can  never  fathom.  A  beautiful,  dignified,  and  truly  artistic 
building  is  one  of  the  highest  possible  products  of  our  civi- 
lization, and  such  work  brings  out  all  the  poetic  feeling  in 
one's  nature,  just  as  the  production  of  a  fine  painting  or 
piece  of  sculpture  does.  These  arts,  and  literature  as  well, 
all  have  their  special  devotees  among  us,  but  everyone 
knows  enough  of  all  arts  to  appreciate  and  enjoy  good 
work  in  every  department. 

**  We  build  truthfully,  and  this  helps  to  make  what  we 
build  beautiful,  for  truth  is  beautiful  wherever  it  is  found; 
and  beauty  is  an  object  to  be  sought  after  for  its  own 
sake,  an  enjoyable  thing  well  worth  striving  for.  Relig- 
ion and  art,  using  both  those  terms  in  a  comprehensive 
sense,  have  worked  together,  through  all  our  history,  to  lift 
up  our  souls  and  fit  them  for  higher  and  higher  duties." 

"Thorwald,"  said  Zenith,  "I  think  our  friends  would 
enjoy  seeing  some  of  our  imposing  buildings  and  other 
works  of  art  while  this  subject  is  before  them." 

That  this  was  not  a  suggestion  that  we  should  start  on  an 
extended  tour  of  the  country  was  proved  by  Thorwald,  who 
said  : 

"  Very  well,  we  will  then  go  into  the  music  room  again, 
if  you  please." 

Here  we  were  shown,  by  the  new  powers  of  the  telephone, 
a  bewildering  succession  of  the  grandest  structures  our 
imagination  could  picture  :  churches  and  cathedrals,  college 
buildings,  observatories,  museums,  music  halls  and  private 
residences.  These  were  not  like  pictures  or  views ;  but  the 
structures  themselves,  in  full  perspective  and  in  all  the 
richness  of  their  coloring,  seemed  to  stand  before  us. 
Trees  waving  in  the  breeze,  people  and  carriages  passing  in 
the  streets  and  occasionally  a  movement  at  a  window  or  door, 


THE    PICTURE    TELEGRAPH.  221 

all  aided  the  illusion  and  made  it  difificult  to  realize  that 
we  were  not  in  the  midst  of  the  scenes  we  were  gazing  upon. 

Thorwald  or  Zenith  told  us  the  name  or  purpose  of  each 
building  as  it  appeared,  and  the  novel  exhibition  closed 
with  the  presentation  of  a  large  and  splendid  playhouse. 

As  this  was  announced  I  involuntarily  exclaimed  : 

"  So  you  have  kept  the  theater,  have  you?  Some  good 
people  on  the  earth  think  the  drama  is  demoralizing." 

"That,"  said  Zenith,  "is  probably  because  you  have 
allowed  it  to  become  debased.  We  read  in  our  histories  of 
such  a  period  here.  Indeed,  for  a  long  time  both  the  play 
and  the  opera  were  abolished,  our  advancing  civilization 
having  given  them  up  under  the  impression  that  the  good 
in  them  was  overbalanced  by  the  evil.  But  when  the  era  of 
a  more  noble  personal  character  had  come  the  drama  was 
revived,  and  now  is  not  only  a  source  of  innocent  pleasure 
but  is  also  a  decided  help  to  our  growth. 

"  I  recognize  the  house  we  are  now  looking  at.  It  is  in 
quite  a  distant  city,  and  I  see  Thorwald  has  purposely 
chosen  it  because  at  this  moment  an  able  company  is  pre- 
senting there  one  of  our  most  popular  plays.  Would  you 
like  to  hear  some  of  it?  " 

No  sooner  were  these  words  uttered  than  we  saw  Thor- 
wald make  a  slight  movement  of  the  switch,  and,  lo  !  the 
scene  was  changed  to  the  interior  of  the  building,  and  there 
before  us  was  the  Martian  theater  in  full  play.  We  sat  as 
it  wero  in  the  dress  circle,  with  the  orchestra  and  stage  in 
our  front.  All  was  beauty  and  life  around  us,  and  the  rich- 
ness and  harmonious  coloring  of  the  whole  interior  were 
simply  beyond  description.  The  play  was  going  on  in  a 
quiet,  dignified  manner  and  every  word  and  gesture  were 
characterized  with  the  greatest  naturalness.  It  struck  the 
doctor  and  me  as  a  peculiar  feature  that,  while  we  could 


222  DAYBREAK, 

hear  everything  that  was  said  on  the  stage  and  even  the 
rustle  of  the  people  around  us,  we  ourselves  could  talk  and 
laugh  without  being  noticed.  This  effect  was  produced  by 
an  ingenious  attachment  to  the  telephone,  and  the  doctor 
was  moved  to  remark  : 

"  This  is  an  altogether  comfortable  and  satisfactory  situ- 
ation." 

"  Yes,"  added  Zenith,  "  we  think  it  is  almost  as  good  as 
being  actually  present  in  the  theater." 

We  assured  her  it  was  better,  in  our  opinion,  and  then  we 
thanked  them  both  for  the  pleasure  they  had  given  us. 
But  we  began  to  think  their  resources  for  entertaining  their 
friends  would  never  be  exhausted  when  Thorwald  told  us  he 
would,  at  some  future  time,  show  us  specimens  of  their 
paintings,  sculpture,  fine  porcelain,  elegant  furniture,  and 
many  other  works  of  art. 

One  morning,  a  few  days  later,  as  we  were  rising  from 
breakfast,  Thorwald  said  : 

"  Well,  my  friends,  I  suppose  you  will  go  to  church  with 
us  to-day  ?  ' ' 

"  To  church?  "   asked  we  in  one  breath. 

"  Yes,  this  is  Sunday." 

"Oh,  is  it?"  I  said.  "I  began  to  think  you  didn't 
have  Sunday  here.  It  is  now  eight  days  since  our  return 
from  the  moon,  and  this  is  the  first  we  have  heard  of  it." 

"  Let  me  see,"  said  Thorwald,  "  I  believe  this  is  the 
first  Sunday  we  have  spent  at  home  since  you  came  to  us." 

"  Then  how  long  is  your  week?  " 

"  Ten  days." 

"  That  accounts  for  our  misunderstanding,"  I  said,  "  for 
our  Sunday  comes  every  seventh  day." 

"  That  is  an  odd  number,"  returned  Thorwald.  "  With 
us  the  week  is  the  basis  of  our  decimal  method  of  reckon- 


THE    PICTURE    TELEGRAPH.  223 

ing.  We  have  one  hundred  minutes  in  an  hour  and  ten 
hours  in  a  day." 

Of  course  we  were  ready  to  go  to  church,  and  when  we 
were  on  the  way,  seated  in  a  comfortable  carriage,  the 
doctor  said  to  Thorwald  : 

"  If  for  any  reason  you  do  not  care  to  go  out  on  Sunday, 
I  suppose  you  can  all  repair  to  your  music  room,  turn  that 
little  switch,  and  listen  to  the  best  preacher  and  the  best 
church  music  in  the  land.  But  do  not  imagine  by  that 
remark  that  we  have  any  fault  to  find  with  this  method  of 
going  to  church.     For  my  part,  I  think  I  prefer  it." 

"  I  perceive,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  that  you  have  a  good 
idea  of  the  capabilities  of  the  telephone,  but  I  shall  have 
to  correct  you  in  this  case.  Our  instruments  are  not  con- 
nected with  any  of  the  churches.  But  to-morrow  we  can 
get,  by  asking  through  the  telephone,  phonograph  rolls  of 
any  sermons  that  are  delivered  to-day.  If  we  preferred 
we  could  get  them  in  print,  but  the  phonograph  is  pleas- 
anter.  This  instrument  is  now  so  perfect  that  the  imitation 
of  the  speaker's  words  and  tones  is  faultless.  The  works 
of  all  our  authors  can  be  obtained  in  this  form,  and  our 
libraries  consist  in  great  part  of  phonograph  rolls.  Even 
the  poets  of  former  generations  speak  to  us,  and  the  voice 
of  the  singer  adds  its  charm  to  the  song. 

"  But  you  will  want  to  ask  me  why  we  do  not  extend  the 
use  of  the  telephone  to  the  churches.  We  learned  long  ago 
that  it  is  a  good  thing  for  people  to  come  together  for  wor- 
ship and  that  nothing  will  take  the  place  of  it.  We  do  not 
go  for  an  intellectual  treat  nor  to  enjoy  the  music,  but 
only  for  worship,  and  we  try  to  keep  our  forms  simple  yet 
dignified  and  as  fitting  as  possible  in  all  ways.  Some  day 
I  must  tell  you  through  what  difficulties  we  have  passed  in 
church  ceremonies  and  church  government." 


CHAPTER   XXV. 


AN    UNSATISFACTORY    LOVER. 


It  was  delightful  to  live  in  the  same  world  with  Mona, 
not  for  me  only  but  for  every  one  who  knew  her.  No  one 
could  help  loving  her;  there  was  simply  nothing  else  to  do. 
Others  did  not  make  as  much  show  of  their  affection  as 
I  did,  perhaps  because  no  one  else  was  selfish  enough  to 
claim  the  same  personal  rights  in  her,  but  I  found  every 
new  acquaintance  she  made  succumbed  to  the  power  of  her 
many  charms.  The  secret  of  this  general  homage  was  her 
own  loving  nature,  'which  just  worked  itself  out  spontane- 
ously, but  the  more  her  love  was  shed  abroad  the  more  she 
retained  for  new-comers.  At  first  my  naturally  jealous  dis- 
position continued  to  give  me  long  hours  of  anguish,  but 
I  happily  was  able  to  overcome  this  to  a  great  extent  as  I 
became  better  acquainted  with  her  marvelous  spirit. 

Although  I  was  at  that  time  too  much  under  the  spell  of 
this  fair  creature  to  form  an  unprejudiced  judgment  of  her, 
I  have  since  then  attempted  something  of  the  kind,  in 
comparing  her  in  my  mind  with  Antonia  and  others  whom 
we  met  in  Mars.  Let  me  say  that  the  Martians  are  not  a 
perfect  race.  With  our  undeveloped  spiritual  natures  we 
could  not,  during  our  entire  visit,  see  any  imperfections  in 
them;  but,  as  will  Ije  seen  further  on  in  this  narrative,  our 
good  friends  Thorwald  and  Zenith,  under  whose  instruc- 
tions kind  fortune  had  placed  us,  were  particular  to  tell  us 


AN    UNSATISFACTORY    LOVER.  225 

that  their  race  had  reached  only  an  advanced  state  of  civi- 
lization, to  which  the  earth  might  one  day  attain,  and  that 
perfection  was  still  a  dream  of  the  future.  Taking  Antonia, 
then,  as  a  representative  of  her  kind,  I  can  see  that  she  had 
a  solidly  formed  character.  She  was  what  she  was,  not 
because  she  could  not  help  it  but  because  she  herself  willed 
it.  That  is,  when  she  might  have  done  wrong  she  chose  to 
do  right.  Her  connection  with  temptation  was  not  entirely 
through  her  remote  ancestors,  whose  sins  filled  such  a  large 
page  in  their  history,  but  she  herself  had  felt  drawings 
toward  evil.  Yet  so  slightly  had  she  yielded,  and  so 
strongly  had  her  right  years  of  living  buttressed  her  against 
all  kinds  of  wrong,  that  she,  as  well  as  all  of  her  race  whom 
we  saw,  appeared  to  us  about  perfect.  Theoretically  she 
might  transgress,  but  practically  it  was  all  but  impossible. 
Hers,  then,  was  a  truly  noble  character,  and  when  she  gave 
her  love  to  Foedric  he  had  good  reason  to  be  proud  of  the 
gift.  Nor  did  she  defraud  others  of  their  due,  but  her 
heart  was  open  to  every  proper  call. 

Such  was  Antonia,  one  whom  we  could  in  some  degree 
appreciate,  although  so  far  above  us.  But  how  could  we 
understand  a  being  like  Mona,  who  told  us,  and  we  saw  no 
reason  to  disbelieve  her,  that  she  had  never  known  what  it 
was  to  do  wrong?  She  seemed  as  incapable  of  evil  as  the 
birds  of  the  air,  or,  to  make  the  comparison  still  stronger, 
as  a  beautiful  rose.  She  was  guileless  by  nature,  and  good- 
ness and  truth  were  as  much  a  part  of  her  as  her  beauty  was. 
She  was  made  to  be  a  joy  and  comfort  to  every  creature 
brought  within  the  circle  of  her  influence,  and  she  could  no 
more  help  loving  than  the  sun  can  help  shining.  All  who 
came  near  her  received  a  share  of  her  gracious  beams. 

She  was  unselfish  and  full  of  sympathy  and  every  right 
feeling,  not  because  she  had  seen  the  evils  of  selfishness 


226  DAYBREAK. 

and  meanness,  but  because  these  latter  qualities  were  utterly- 
unknown  to  her.  Her  high  character  and  perfectly  correct 
life,  therefore,  were  not  the  result  of  reason  and  choice,  but 
were  the  instinctive  manifestations  of  her  pure  nature. 

I  do  not  undertake  to  say  which  of  these  two  presented 
the  higher  type  of  womanhood,  and  I  certainly  entered  into 
no  such  speculations  about  them  at  that  time,  but  I  never 
had  any  diiificulty  in  deciding  that  Mona  was  the  one  I 
loved.  I  did  not,  of  course,  relish  her  fondness  for  others. 
In  that  respect  I  considered  her  nature  altogether  too  ardent, 
but  I  found  I  must  get  accustomed  to  it,  as  she  would  not 
change. 

It  made  me  quite  despondent  at  times,  fearing  I  could 
never  lead  her  to  feel  any  special  liking  for  me.  Then  when 
she  smiled  upon  me  and  sang  so  sweetly  to  me,  I  thought  I 
ought  to  be  happy  though  I  had  to  share  her  heart  with  all 
the  world.  Still  I  did  not  relax  my  efforts  to  make  my  share 
larger. 

"  Mona,"  I  said,  one  day,  "  I  wish  you  would  ask  me  to 
do  something  real  hard  for  you." 

"  Why?  "   she  asked. 

"  So  that  I  could  show  you  how  much  I  love  you." 

"  But  you  have  already  shown  me,"  she  said.  "  I  can- 
not think  of  anything  more  difficult  than  you  have  done. 
Did  you  not  keep  up  a  firm  belief  that  I  would  be  found, 
even  after  the  doctor  and  these  wise  men  of  Mars  had  lost 
all  hope,  and  did  you  not,  by  your  enthusiasm,  prevail  on 
them  to  enter  on  a  difficult  search  for  me  on  the  moon?  I 
have  heard  all  about  your  deep  concern  for  me  and  how 
you  were  affected  by  hearing  singing  which  you  thought  was 
like  mine.  And  now  that  I  have  been  found,  you  are  so 
watchful  for  my  comfort  and  like  to  be  so  near  me  all  the  » 
time,  that  I  am  sure  I  do  not  need  any  further  proof  of  your 


AN    UNSATISFACTORY    LOVER,  227 

Strong  attachment.  But  why  do  you  pay  me  so  much  atten- 
tion? Why  do  you  not  like  to  be  with  Antonia  as  much  as 
with  me?  " 

"  Because  I  do  not  love  her  as  much  as  I  do  you," 

"  Why  do  you  love  me  so?  Because  I  took  you  down  to 
my  quiet  home  and  saved  you  from  being  blown  ofi  the  top 
of  the  moon  ?  ' ' 

"  No,  the  doctor  and  I  are  both  grateful  to  you  for  that 
kindness,  but  gratitude  isn't  love." 

"  I  haven't  done  anything  else  for  you,"  she  said. 

"  It  isn't  for  anything  you  have  done  that  I  love  you." 

"What  then?" 

"  Oh,  I  don't  know.  I  suppose  it  is  because  I  can't 
help  it." 

"  Oh,  then  you  are  becoming  like  me,  for  I  can't  help 
loving  everybody." 

"  I  shall  never  be  good  enough  for  that,"  said  I. 

"  What  is  love,  as  you  understand  it?  "  asked  Mona. 

"  Love — love,"  I  hesitated  ;  "  why,  it  is  the  feeling  I  have 
in  my  heart  for  you.  Love  is  what  kept  hope  alive  when  you 
were  lost  and  gave  me  such  joy  when  I  heard  your  voice 
and  knew  we  had  found  you.  Love  makes  every  task  light 
that  is  done  for  you  and  every  place  where  you  are  the 
brightest  spot  in  the  universe.  Even  this  delightful  world 
of  Mars  is  more  beautiful  than  ever  because  you  are  here. 
Love,  if  mutual,  is  a  precious  bond,  uniting  two  hearts  and 
making  them  beat  in  harmony.  Cannot  you  and  I  be  joined 
in  heart,  Mona?  " 

"  My  dear  friend,"  she  replied,  "  I  am  very  sorry  I  can- 
not share  your  feeling,  but  I  do  not  understand  such  love 
as  you  have  been  trying  to  describe." 

"  Then  I  fear  you  do  not  love  me, ' '  I  responded,  with  great 
sadness  in  my  voice. 


228  DAYBREAK. 

"Oh,  don't  say  that,"  she  exclaimed.  "Indeed  I  do 
love  you.  Now,  how  can  I  prove  it  to  you?  What  is  the 
opposite  of  love?  " 

"  Hatred  ;  or,  in  such  a  case  as  this,  indifference  would  be 
about  as  bad  as  anything." 

"  Well,  I  don't  know  much  about  such  things,  but  do  I 
seem  like  a  person  who  could  hate  you  or  be  indifferent  to 
you?" 

"  No,  Mona,  you  seem  to  be  the  most  loving  creature  in 
all  the  worlds  we  have  ever  known,  but " 

"  Oh,  do  not  spoil  that  fine  speech  with  a  '  but.'  I  know 
what  you  want  to  say.  You  think  I  ought  to  love  you  more 
than  anyone  else,  or  in  some  different  way.  Now,  that 
desire  of  yours  is  what  I  cannot  understand.  I  love  every- 
body alike  because  I  know  of  no  other  sentiment.  So  it  is 
a  matter  of  course  with  me,  and  I  do  not  feel  obliged  to 
tell  people  that  I  love  them.  You  seem  to  make  too  much 
of  it,  coming  to  me  everyday  and  telling  me,  over  and  over 
again,  that  you  love  me,  just  as  if  I  doubted  it.  Why  do 
you  like  to  be  with  me  so  much?  Do  you  think  it  is  right 
to  be  so  exclusive?  You  ought  to  favor  the  others  with 
your  company.  As  for  mc,  I  must  say  I  prefer  Foedric's 
society  to  yours,  because  he  has  so  many  interesting  things 
to  talk  about,  while  you  stick  continually  to  one  subject 
and  give  me  little  information  even  on  that  one.  You  know 
I  am  a  new-comer  here  and  eager  to  learn  all  I  can.  Then 
there's  the  doctor.  I  take  more  pleasure  conversing  with 
him  than  with  you,  for  he  seems  to  know  more,  or,  at  any 
rate,  to  be  more  able  to  tell  me  things  I  want  to  know  about 
the  earth.  If  the  doctor  were  not  here  and  you  were  the 
only  one  to  judge  from,  I  should  be  obliged  to  think  the 
people  of  the  earth  a  very  curious  race.  Your  companion, 
however,  appears  to  be  a  man  of  considerable  sense." 


AN    UNSATISFACTORY    LOVER.  229 

Mona  sang  all  this  in  her  easy,  natural  way,  being  per- 
fectly free  from  any  intention  of  wounding  my  feelings, 
but  the  more  innocent  I  believed  her  the  more  incapable  I 
saw  she  was  of  entering  into  my  feelings.  I  began  to  real- 
ize how,  in  loving  everybody,  she  missed  a  certain  enjoyment 
derived  from  a  more  selfish  order  of  love.  It  then  occurred 
to  me  that  a  world  full  of  such  people  as  Mona  must  have 
rather  a  monotonous  time  from  our  point  of  view,  and  I  asked 
her  if  she  could  tell  me  about  her  race  in  general  respecting 
the  subject  of  our  conversation. 

"  Certainly,"  she  replied,  "  I  can  tell  you  something 
from  my  own  recollections,  but  more  from  our  traditions." 

"  Well,  were  the  men  of  the  moon  all  sensible,  or  were 
they  all  like  me?  " 

"  Oh,  I  see  you  have  a  little  sense  as  soon  as  you  begin 
to  talk  in  a  new  direction.  In  answer  to  your  question,  let 
me  say  that  the  stress  you  have  put  on  our  personal  rela- 
tions is  something  entirely  new  to  me,  and  I  do  not  see  any 
use  or  advantage  in  it.  This  must  be  my  excuse  for  speak- 
ing so  plainly.  I  should  not  have  spoken  so  had  I  not 
known,  in  spite  of  what  I  have  said,  that  you  had  too  much 
sense  to  be  offended." 

"  I  thank  you,"  I  said.  "  Do  not  apologize  for  your 
words.  I  have  taken  them  as  a  needed  rebuke  for  my  haste 
in  appropriating  you  to  myself.  But  I  believe,  Mona,  that 
the  time  will  come  when  you  will  know  the  happiness  of 
loving  one  person  so  much  that  your  love  for  all  others 
will  not  be  thought  of  in  comparison.  Happy  will  he  be 
who,  in  that  day,  is  able  to  prove  the  capacity  of  your  great 
heart." 

"  Then,  in  that  day,"  she  respontied,  "  shall  I  prove  my- 
self to  be  the  degenerate  daughter  of  a  noble  race.  No, 
my  friend,   we  were  not  made  of  such  stuff.     We   loved 


230  DAYBREAK. 

everybody,  without  question  and  without  limit.  We  could 
do  nothing  else,  and  to  love  one  more  than  another  was 
therefore  impossible." 

"  Let  me  ask  if  everyone  was  worthy  of  being  loved?  " 

"  Why,  as  to  that,  we  were  all  alike.  What  do  you  think 
of  me  ?  ' ' 

"  You  know  what  I  think  of  you,  Mona  ;  or,  if  you  do  not, 
I  will  tell  you." 

"Yes;  you  needn't  tell  me  again.  What  I  wanted  to 
say  is,  that  I  am  no  better  than  the  rest  of  my  people  were." 

"What  a  world  it  must  have  been  then,"  I  exclaimed, 
"  and  how  fortunate  that  the  earth  did  not  discover  it 
earlier.  With  such  an  example  before  us  we  should  have 
been  utterly  discouraged." 

When  Mona  had  left  meat  the  close  of  this  conversation, 
I  proceeded  to  take  stock  of  my  sensations.  I  had  certainly 
been  seeing  a  new  phase  of  Mona's  character.  Could  I 
make  such  vigorous  language  consistent  with  my  former 
conception  of  her?  I  answered  yes  to  this  question  after 
studying  it  awhile,  for  I  concluded  that  she  was  only  just 
in  giving  me  a  lesson  that  I  deserved.  Her  innocence  was 
only  the  more  evident,  and  that  was  the  ground  on  which  I 
built  my  faith  in  her.  But  now  came  the  inquiry  whether 
my  love  could  withstand  such  a  shock  as  it  had  received. 
I  was  no  longer  blind  to  the  truth.  Mona  had  no  stronger 
affection  for  me  than  for  her  other  friends,  and  it  began  to 
be  doubtful  if  she  ever  would  have,  considering  her  peculiar 
education  in  affairs  of  the  heart.  If  I  continued  to  love 
her,  it  must  be  with  the  full  knowledge  that  I  had  not 
as  yet  gained  the  slightest  success  in  my  effort  to  secure 
her  for  my  own  exclusive  possession.  My  exuberant  pas- 
sion had  received  a  serious  shock,  for  I  had  been  plainly 
told   that   it   was   making  me    appear    ridiculous.      Then, 


AN    UNSATISFACTORY    LOVER.  23 1 

when  there  seemed  to  be  danger  that  my  love  must 
grow  cold  under  such  treatment,  I  began  to  argue  Mona's 
cause  to  myself,  and  I  bade  myself  take  comfort  once  more 
in  the  old  thoughts.  She  was  young  and  careless,  besides 
being  entirely  new  to  our  manner  of  wooing,  and  I  had 
been  too  hasty  in  my  approaches  and  no  doubt  tired  her 
with  my  continuous  solicitations.  But  then,  on  the  other 
hand,  I  continued,  the  case  seemed  much  more  hopeless 
than  before  after  such  a  plain  rebuff,  and  if  I  had  any  self- 
respect  I  could  not  continue  to  pay  my  court  where  my 
honest  love  was  made  a  matter  of  jest. 

These  thoughts  passed  rapidly  through  my  mind,  and  I 
cannot  tell  to  what  rash  resolve  they  would  have  led  me 
had  not  the  music  of  Mona's  laughing  voice  just  then  come 
floating  in  from  another  room.  As  usual,  this  was  more  than 
I  could  resist,  and  its  immediate  effect  now  was  to  drive 
out  reason  and  to  enthrone  love  once  more.  All  my  doubt 
and  uncertainty  vanished  in  a  twinkling,  my  self-respect 
hid  itself  in  a  dark  corner  of  my  memory,  and  as  1  instinc- 
tively started  to  find  the  fair  singer  I  realized  again,  with  a 
feeling  too  strong  for  argument,  that  I  was  still  very  much 
in  love. 


CHAPTER   XXVI. 


AN    ENVIARLE    CONDITION. 


Our  life  in  this  cultured  home  continued  to  be  as 
pleasant  as  were  these  first  days.  There  was  always  some- 
thing new  to  show  us  or  to  tell  us.  We  would  walk  out 
every  day  and  often  step  into  a  carriage  and  take  a  long 
ride.  Our  friends  were  famous  walkers  but  were  consider- 
ate of  our  feebleness,  and  still  our  returning  strength, 
added  to  the  great  buoyancy  of  our  bodies  on  that  smaller 
planet,  soon  gave  us  also  remarkable  walking  powers. 

Sometimes  the  children  would  accompany  us  on  an  all- 
day  excursion,  and  then  the  house  would  be  left  not  only 
unlocked,  but  with  the  doors  wide  open  perhaps.  When  we 
remarked  on  this.  Zenith  told  us  that  if  anyone  happened 
along  he  would  be  at  perfect  liberty  to  go  in  and  help  him- 
self to  anything  in  the  house.  This  was  always  understood, 
whether  the  people  were  at  home  or  not,  and  one  need  not 
even  go  through  the  formality  of  asking,  if  he  could  see 
what  he  wanted.  This  referred  not  merely  to  bodily  refresh- 
ment, of  which  one  might  be  in  need,  but  literally  to  every- 
thing the  house  contained ;  and  the  reason  why  there  was 
any  sort  of  comfort  living  under  such  conditions  was,  that 
the  members  of  that  society  were  all  and  severally  of  such 
ripe  characters  that  it  was  well  known  one  would  not 
deprive  another  of  anything  he  was  using  except  for  a  rea- 
son which  would  be  satisfactory  to  both. 


AN    ENVIABLE    CONDITION.  233 

"  If  we  could  communicate  with  the  people  on  the 
earth,"  said  the  doctor  to  me  when  we  sat  alone  conversing 
about  these  things,  "  and  tell  them  how  the  inhabitants 
here  live,  they  would  want  to  organize  an  expedition  and 
start  for  Mars  right  away." 

"Yes,  I  think  they  would,"  I  assented.  "  And  yet,  if 
what  Thorwald  says  is  true,  the  earth  will  one  day  be  as 
good  as  Mars.     Do  you  believe  it?  " 

"  Well,  the  fact  is,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  I  am  ready  to 
believe  almost  anything  now." 

"  Oh,  I  wish  Thorwald  could  hear  you  say  that." 

"  I  should  not  object,"  he  continued.  "  I  am  sure  that 
some  power,  not  comprehended  by  our  science  or  philos- 
ophy, has  operated  here  to  bring  these  people  to  the  con- 
dition in  which  we  find  them,  and  if  the  same  kind 
forces  are  at  work  on  the  earth,  let  us  hope  they  will  do  as 
much  for  us,  no  matter  how  much  time  it  takes.  If  a  belief 
in  such  a  power  is  faith,  then  perhaps  I  am  beginning  to 
have  a  little  faith. 

"  I  remember  I  used  to  hear  our  preachers  in  their  public 
prayers  ask  God  that  every  form  of  vice  and  crime  might  be 
banished  from  the  earth,  and  that  the  time  might  come 
when  there  should  be  no  more  sin,  but  only  love  and  beauty 
and  happiness.  I  have  heard  such  prayers  a  hundred  times, 
and  never  thought  much  about  them.  But  now  I  am  forced 
to  think,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  these  prayers  would  not 
be  inade  continually  unless  there  were  a  hope  and  expecta- 
tion in  the  minds  of  religious  people  that  they  would  some 
time  be  answered.  It  is  not  for  me  to  assume  that  such 
a  hope  is  unreasonable,  drawn  as  it  is  from  the  book  which 
so  many  believe  is  the  word  of  God." 

I  rejoiced  to  hear  my  friend  talk  in  this  way,  but  it  seemed 
very  odd  that  he    should  be    preaching  my  own  doctrine 


234  DAYBREAK. 

to  me.  I  had  had  the  same  thoughts,  and  had  been  trying 
to  find  the  right  time  to  offer  them  to  the  doctor.  I  am 
sure  I  was  thankful  that  he  was  coming  to  such  views  with- 
out a  word  from  me,  for  he  would  probably  be  much  more 
apt  to  hold  to  them. 

The  foregoing  conversation  was  in  the  evening,  and  the 
next  morning  we  were  all  sitting  comfortably  in  the  music 
room,  when  Thorwald  said  : 

"  The  other  day  I  began  to  give  you  some  orderly  account 
of  our  history,  but  you  see  how  it  has  been  broken  into  by 
the  relation  of  different  phases,  in  answer  to  your  questions. 
It  seems  to  me  now  that  it  will  be  more  interesting  to  you 
if  I  continue  in  tlie  same  way  and  take  up  one  subject  at  a 
time.  And  now  that  we  have  a  little  time  before  us,  I  wish 
you  would  suggest  some  point  upon  which  you  would  like 
to  have  me  talk ;  that  is,  if  it  is  agreeable  to  you." 

To  which  the  doctor  replied  : 

"  I  like  your  plan  very  much  and  I  am  sure  we  both  have 
plenty  of  questions  which  will  keep  you  supplied  with 
topics.  I  have  desired  for  some  time  to  ask  you  about  your 
industrial  system.  I  can  see  how  electricity  has  relieved 
you  of  the  most  arduous  labor,  but  there  must  remain  much 
disagreeable  work,  as  we  would  call  it,  to  be  done  with  the 
hand.  In  our  busy  life  there  are  a  thousand  such  tasks, 
which  I  cannot  conceive  of  being  performed  by  machinery, 
many  of  them  hard  only  because  they  are  monotonous  and 
awake  no  interest  or  enthusiasm  in  the  performer.  Men 
and  women  are  continually  wearing  themselves  out  with 
such  work.  You  must  have  abolished  all  that,  if  everybody 
here  is  comfortable  and  happy.  I  am  very  anxious  to  hear 
how  it  has  been  done." 

"  In  answering  your  question,"  Thorwald  began,  "  let 
me  say,  first,  that  I  presume  we   have   learned  to    employ 


AN    ENVIABLE    CONDITION.  235 

machines  in  a  great  many  ways  which  to  you  would  seem 
incomprehensible.  The  drudgery  and  much  of  the  monot- 
ony of  labor  have  been  removed,  as  well  as  its  severity. 
But  still,  as  you  surmise,  there  is  plenty  of  work  for  all. 
Our  higher  civilization  does  not  require  less  work  than 
yours,  but  rather  more  and  of  greater  variety.  It  is  all  done 
quietly,  however,  without  friction  or  any  of  the  unpleasant 
features  of  former  times. 

"  I  suspect  that  the  real  secret  of  the  change  is  in  the 
elevation  of  individual  character.  This  has  done  more  to 
better  our  condition  than  electricity  and  all  the  material 
improvements  and  inventions  of  the  age.  You  must  believe 
me  when  I  say  that  no  sort  of  labor  is  considered  disgrace- 
ful, and,  further,  that  one  occupation  is  just  as  honorable 
as  another.  The  man  who  goes  into  the  mine  and  superin- 
tends the  machine  which  gathers  the  precious  metal  is 
esteemed  as  highly  as  he  who,  with  an  artist's  brain  and 
fingers,  shapes  it  to  its  highest  use.  The  carpenter  who 
works  with  his  hands  in  the  building  of  the  house  can 
hold  his  head  as  high  as  the  architect  who  has  spent  many 
years  in  learning  how  to  create  the  design.  Why  not? 
Both  are  engaged  on  the  same  work,  each  one  in  his  favorite, 
and  so  his  best,  way.  Both  are  working,  not  for  daily 
bread  or  other  selfish  end,  but  for  the  sake  of  doing  some- 
thing useful.  The  perfect  content  and  satisfaction  we  all 
enjoy  in  our  labor  come  partly  from  our  abundant  health 
and  strength,  and  largely,  also,  from  our  entire  freedom 
from  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  means  of  maintenance  for 
ourselves  and  our  families.  In  these  respects  we  are  all 
equally  fortunate.  We  are  absolutely  unconcerned  about 
what  material  things  we  shall  have  for  ourselves  or  leave 
to  our  children." 

"  Do  you  then  all  have  equal  pay  for  your  work,  and  that 


236  DAYBREAK. 

SO  much  that  it  places  you  above  anxiety?"  asked  the 
doctor. 

"Yes,"  answered  Thorwald,  "we  are  all  paid  equally, 
because  we  are  not  paid  at  all.  So,  having  no  wages  and 
owning  no  property,  why  should  we  be  anxious?  You  know 
I  have  told  you  we  can  have  for  our  use  anything  that  is 
produced  or  made  without  even  asking  anybody  for  it.  The 
mere  fact  that  we  need  a  thing  makes  it  rightfully  ours." 

"  But  what  is  the  incentive  to  labor  if  you  get  nothing 
for  it,  and  can  live  just  as  well  without  it?  " 

"  The  incentive  is  in  the  love  for  our  work  and  the  con- 
sciousness that  we  are  doing  something  to  make  someone 
happier  and  the  world  a  little  better.  Let  me  give  you  an 
illustration,  a  personal  one,  if  you  will  excuse  me.  A 
neighbor  asks  me  to  make  him  a  plan  for  a  house.  He  may 
be  a  writer  of  books  or  he  may  be  a  carriage  maker,  or  what 
not,  it  makes  not  the  slightest  difference.  I  enjoy  that 
kind  of  work  and,  having  obtained  his  ideas  in  regard  to  a 
house,  I  do  the  best  I  can.  I  cannot  conceive  that  I  could 
do  any  better  if  I  knew  he  would  pay  me  for  the  work,  as 
you  say.  In  like  manner  he  asks  other  neighbors  to  build 
his  house  for  him,  and  he  has  no  difficulty  in  finding  enough 
men  who  enjoy  that  occupation  as  much  as  I  do  my  part  of 
the  work,  and  the  principle  which  governs  them  in  their 
labor  is  as  high  as  that  which  controls  me." 

"  Then,"  said  the  doctor,  "  I  should  think  the  poor  man 
— I  beg  your  pardon,  I  mean  the  hod-carrier — could  ha\e 
as  grand  a  house  as  the  architect  himself." 

"  I  don't  know  what  a  hod-carrier  is,"  replied  Thorwald, 
"  but  I  get  your  meaning,  and  you  are  quite  right.  As  an 
example  of  just  that  state  of  things,  I  will  tell  you  that  the 
man  who  tends  the  digging  machine  in  my  garden  lives  in  a 
larger  and   handsomer  house    than   this  one.      Why  not? 


AN    ENVIABLE    CONDITION.  237 

He  has  a  large  family,  and  he  and  his  wife  are  educated  and 
refined  people." 

"  But  with  no  physical  wants  to  provide  against,  I  should 
think  some  men  would  find  existence  easier  not  to  work  at 
all.  According  to  your  theory  they  could  live  in  as  good 
style  as  the  toilers  and  have  no  one  to  call  them  to  account." 

"  No  one  but  themselves.  Every  man  is  his  own  monitor, 
and  he  needs  no  other.  He  knows  his  duty,  and  he  has 
that  within  him  which  keeps  him  up  to  it  more  effectually 
than  any  outside  influence  could.  In  regard  to  a  man's  not 
caring  to  work,  we  have  been  through  all  that,  and  we  have 
now  no  such  cases.  We  found  out  long  ago  that  it  is  better 
to  have  some  one  stated  employment  and  follow  it.  But 
this  does  not  mean  that  the  work  becomes  a  burden.  One 
can  rest  as  often  and  as  long  as  he  pleases.  There  is  no 
one  to  intimate  in  any  way  that  he  should  be  at  work,  as  the 
question  is  left  entirely  to  him.  The  moment  that  work 
ceases  to  be  a  necessity  it  becomes  a  pleasure  and  the  most 
natural  thing  in  the  world.  The  multiplication  of  mechan- 
ical inventions  has  greatly  reduced  the  volume  of  labor, 
so  that  there  is  really  but  little  for  each  individual  to  do; 
and  the  truth  is,  there  is  never  any  lack  of  men.  If 
anything,  there  is  not  enough  work." 

"Your  words,"  said  the  doctor,  "reveal  a  remarkable 
condition  of  affairs,  and  I  fear  it  will  be  many,  many  years 
before  we  can  begin  to  think  seriously  of  such  a  plan,  so 
long  as  to  make  it  almost  hopeless;  but  there  is  one  more 
question  I  would  like  to  ask.  With  all  this  freedom  of 
choice,  how  does  it  happen  that  all  do  not  flock  to  the  easy 
and  pleasant  occupations,  and  leave  the  disagreeable  tasks 
undone  ?  ' ' 

To  this  Thorwald  replied  : 

"  Let  me  ask  you,  Doctor,  if  you  have  not  an  answer  to 


238  DAYBREAK. 

your  question  in  your  own  industrial  system.  Do  you  not 
always  find  men  to  do  every  required  work,  no  matter  how 
hard  and  distasteful  it  may  seem  to  you?  I  do  not  mean 
that  the  parallel  is  exact,  but  this  seems  to  be  governed  now, 
as  it  has  always  been,  by  a  dispensation  of  nature.  We  are 
born  with  different  tastes  and  inclinations.  Each  one 
chooses  his  own  occupation,  and  it  comes  to  pass  provi- 
dentially, just  as  it  did  in  the  olden  time,  that  all  do  not 
choose  alike." 

"  Are  all  equally  well  educated?  " 

"  No,  but  all  have  an  equal  opportunity.  Everyone  is 
given  a  broad  foundation  of  general  information.  The  mind 
and  hand  are  both  trained  and  prepared  to  do  good  work, 
and  then  the  choice  of  occupation  is  made  and  the  special 
education  begins.  But  one  who  has  chosen  some  kind  of 
manual  labor  as  his  vocation  very  often  takes  up  literary  or 
other  professional  work  in  addition,  and  everybody  has  some 
kind  of  study  on  hand,  by  which  the  mind  is  kept  employed. 
There  is  no  uneducated  class  among  us." 

"  Before  you  reached  such  nobility  of  character,"  said 
the  doctor,  "  that  panacea  for  so  many  ills,  I  suppose  you 
had  troubles  enough.  You  have  already  intimated  as  much 
to  us.  I  wonder  if  it  would  not  help  us  to  appreciate  bet- 
ter your  present  condition  if  you  should  tell  us  briefly  of 
your  experiences  in  solving  so  happily  some  of  the  prob- 
lems of  your  career.  I  am  thinking  now  more  especially 
of  the  difificultiesof  your  social  and  industrial  reformation." 

"  I  will  attempt  something  of  the  kind,"  Thorwald  re- 
plied, "  if  you  are  sure  I  shall  not  weary  you.  Remember 
to  prompt  me  if  I  do  not  follow  the  lines  of  most  interest 
to  you. 

"  If  you  should  prefer  to  read  you  would  find  the  facts 
you  want  fully  set   forth  in  our  histories.     The  records  are 


AN    ENVIABLE    CONDITION.  239 

especially  full  and  exhaustive  on  the  subjects  you  have 
mentioned,  for  the  important  changes,  or,  at  least,  the 
changes  whose  story  will  be  most  instructive  to  you,  came 
in  a  time  of  great  intellectual  activity.  Of  the  earlier  days 
the  history  is  unfortunately  less  complete,  and  still  further 
back  the  records  become  uncertain  and  many  are  merely 
legendary. 

"  Let  us  begin  at  a  time  when  civilization  was  confined 
to  a  small  portion  of  the  surface  of  our  planet.  Society 
was  then  crude  and  unformed.  It  was  a  rude,  selfish 
age.  But  the  germ  of  better  things  was  there,  for  the  gos- 
pel of  Christ  had  been  planted  in  the  world  and  was  sure  to 
spring  into  life  when  its  time  should  come.  But  mean- 
while our  evil  nature  was  strong  and  choked  the  good  seed, 
and  made  advancement  slow  and  uncertain.  Power  was 
divided  among  many  rulers  who  were  despots,  whose  prin- 
cipal occupation  was  war.  The  people  were  valued  merely 
for  their  fighting  qualities  and  enjoyed  only  such  rights  and 
privileges  as  their  cruel  masters  allowed  them.  Being 
slaves  themselves,  they  held  in  a  still  more  bitter  slavery 
e^•ery  prisoner  captured  in  war. 

"  Life  was  mere  animal  existence  for  most  of  the  race, 
without  enjoyment  for  the  present  or  hope  for  the  future. 
Education  being  denied  them,  there  was  no  mental  stimulus 
to  compensate  for  physical  wretchedness,  and  even  their 
meager  religious  privileges  were  accompanied  with  so  many 
superstitious  and  unnatural  rites  that  life  was  relieved  of 
but  a  little  of  its  burden. 

"  Gradually  power  was  concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  few 
autocrats,  nations  were  consolidated,  and  war  began  to  be  a 
science.  Then  some  attention  was  paid  to  the  comfort  of 
the  people  for  the  purpose  of  making  them  better  soldiers. 
Soon  it  was  found  that  intelligence  was  the  best  weapon  a 


240  DAYBREAK. 

man  could  carry,  and  so  education,  in  a  very  stinted  form, 
was  encouraged.  This  was  a  fatal  blunder  on  the  part  of 
the  rulers,  for  as  soon  as  the  mind  was  unfettered  the 
shackles  began  to  fall  from  the  body,  and  the  days  of  abso- 
lutism were  numbered.  The  spirit  of  knowledge,  once 
released  from  its  imprisonment,  became  a  dominant  power 
in  the  world,  and  as  time  went  on  the  people  demanded 
a  voice  in  the  management  of  affairs.  In  this  way  came 
constitutional  government,  which  for  a  longtime  held  sway, 
and  under  which  there  came  immense  benefits  to  all. 
Religion  and  learning  flourished,  science  and  art  blessed 
the  race  with  their  bounties,  and  the  world  began  to  be  a 
brighter  and  better  place  to  live  in,  comparing  the  times 
with  the  ages  of  ignorance  and  cruelty  that  went  before. 

"  And  now  the  stream  of  liberty  broadened,  and  before 
long  became  a  flood  that  swept  away  thrones  and  scepters. 
Personal  government  ceased,  and  the  people  became  their 
own  political  masters.  The  right  of  suffrage  was  extended 
and  slavery  was  abolished,  while  commerce  and  the  spirit 
of  adventure  carried  civilization  to  many  parts  of  the  world. 
Then  appeared  a  swarm  of  mechanical  inventions  to  lighten 
the  labor  of  mankind,  electricity  came  with  its  strong  arm 
and  great  promise,  and  easier  and  swifter  transportation  by 
land  and  sea  brought  the  nations  and  peoples  together  to 
the  mutual  advantage  of  all. 

"  Education,  once  the  possession  of  the  rich  and  power- 
ful only,  now  shed  its  benign  inllucncc  over  the  whole 
l^eople.  AVhereas,  in  the  early  times,  learning  had  caused 
the  downfall  of  despotic  power,  it  was  now  considered  a 
principal  safeguard  of  good  government,  and  made  compul- 
sory. Wealth  was  accumulated,  luxuries  multiplied,  and 
great  strides  were  taken  in  the  material  welfare  of  both 
nations  and  individuals.      It  was  an  age  of  intense  activity. 


AN    ENVIABLE    CONDITION.  24I 

So  rapidly  did  events  follow  each  other,  and  such  possibil- 
ities were  anticipated,  that  enthusiasts,  whose  heads  were 
turned  in  the  mad  whirl,  prophesied  the  immediate  open- 
ing of  the  millennium. 

"  Judged  by  all  the  race  had  previously  know^n  of  free- 
dom, of  prosperity,  and  of  happiness,  it  was  a  grand  age, 
and  that  generation  might  well  be  proud  of  their  timely 
birth.  But,  looked  at  from  our  present  standpoint,  we  can 
see  it  was  still  a  day  of  sadness  and  sin.  We  understand, 
what  it  was  more  difficult  for  them  to  realize,  that  the 
revival  of  pure  religion,  awakening  the  conscience  of  man- 
kind, had  brought  about  all  that  was  good  in  their  condi- 
tion, while  many  evil  tendencies  had  only  been  exaggerated 
by  their  material  prosperity.  So  it  was  still  a  very  imperfect 
world.  Political  freedom  they  had,  but  there  was  no  eman- 
cipation from  the  powerful  thraldom  of  selfishnesss.  That 
spirit  held  universal  sway,  governing  not  only  individual 
action  but  also  the  policy  of  nations. 

"  One  of  the  highest  sentiments  known  to  the  times,  and 
some  writers  placed  it  even  above  religion,  was  love  of 
country.  Impassioned  oratory  was  fond  of  declaring  that 
loyalty  to  one's  native  land  was  the  loftiest  emotion  the 
heart  could  feel,  and  no  voice  was  found  to  rebuke  the 
utterance." 

I  was  a  little  shocked  to  hear  Thorwald,  in  his  earnest 
manner,  give  expression  to  these  words,  as  though  he  looked 
upon  such  views  in  a  very  serious  light.  I  was  therefore 
bold  enough  to  interrupt  him  with  : 

"  Excuse  me,  Thorwald,  but  would  not  these  orators, 
when  their  attention  was  called  to  their  extreme  language, 
acknowledge  that  love  to  God  was  a  still  higher  senti- 
ment ?  ' ' 

"  Perhaps  they  would,  for  with  all  the  selfishness  of  the 
16 


242  DAYBREAK, 

period  there  was  a  deep-seated  l)elief  in  a  divine  being. 
But  even  so,  I  still  would  not  allow  them  to  be  right." 

"  Why,"  I  asked,  "  is  there  more  than  one  motive  higher 
than  patriotism?  " 

"Yes,  love  is  higher,"  answered  Thorwald.  "Let  me 
explain.  What  did  love  of  country  mean?  At  first  one's 
country  was  a  single  family,  then  a  tribe,  and  later  a  city, 
when  the  measure  of  one's  patriotism  was  the  measure  also 
of  his  hatred  for  everything  foreign.  In  time  a  state  was 
formed  from  many  cities  and  towns,  and  its  citizens  were 
taught  to  look  on  all  other  states  as  enemies.  Then  these 
states  that  had  been  fighting  each  other  consolidated  into  a 
nation,  made  up,  perhaps,  of  different  races  and  languages. 
By  this  time  patriotism  became  a  lofty  theme,  but  it  was 
the  same  spirit  essentially  as  that  which  prompts  the  mem- 
bers of  two  savage  tribes  to  fight  to  the  death  through  a 
blind  and  unreasoning  devotion  to  their  leaders.  So  do 
you  not  think  that  love  to  all,  which  can  only  come  from 
a  generous  heart,  is  more  to  be  praised  than  love  to  a  part, 
which  necessitates  enmity  to  all  the  rest?  I  should  think 
it  would  have  puzzled  the  people  of  that  age  sometimes  to 
tell  of  what  their  country  really  consisted.  Was  their  high- 
est allegiance  due  to  their  city,  or  their  county,  or  their 
state,  or  their  nation? 

"To  what  did  this  immoderate  love  of  country  lead? 
To  a  passion  for  aggrandizement  at  the  expense  of  others, 
and  what  was  this  but  selfishness  with  a  gloss  so  bright  as 
to  make  it  look  like  a  virtue?  It  led  to  the  strangling  of 
conscience  in  national  affairs,  so  as  to  make  wrong  seem 
right,  and,  more  than  that,  to  persistence  in  a  course  when 
it  was  well  known  to  be  wrong.  It  taught  false  ideas  of 
honor  and  made  the  world  one  grand  dueling  field,  where 
the  energy  of  nations  was    spent  in  watching   for  insults 


AN    ENVIABLE    CONDITION.  243 

from  their  neighbors,  and  where  the  quick  blow  followed 
every  real  or  fancied  offense. 

"  Do  not  imagine,  by  what  I  have  said,  that  I  would 
have  advised  these  people  to  love  their  country  less.  On 
the  contrary,  I  should  tell  them  to  love  it  so  much  that  they 
could  not  see  it  do  wrong ;  to  love  it  so  much  that  they 
should  have  no  room  in  their  hearts  for  bitterness  toward 
others ;  so  much  that  they  should  strive  to  have  it  lead  the 
world  in  a  march  toward  universal  brotherhood.  Love  for 
one's  neighbor  should  not  stop  at  state  or  national  bound- 
aries. Love  should  know  neither  caste  nor  country,  but 
should  take  in  the  world,  and,  I  might  add  for  your  benefit, 
other  worlds  if  necessary.  Love  is  a  condition  of  the 
heart,  something  within,  not  without,  the  man,  and  when 
fully  developed  reaches  out  to  everything  that  God  has 
made." 

"  It  seems  to  me,  Thorwald,"  I  ventured  to  say,  "  that 
these  sentiments,  which  I  can  see  are  admirable,  belong  to 
your  present  high  development,  while  we  of  the  earth  have 
reached  only  about  the  condition  of  the  people  whose  traits 
you  have  been  describing." 

"Then,"  resumed  Thorwald,  "you  can  perhaps  under- 
stand another  evil  of  those  times.  It  did  not  grow  directly 
out  of  love  for  country,  but  that  too  much  lauded  sentiment 
prevented  the  people  from  seeing  its  full  enormity.  This 
was  the  practice  of  attempting  by  law  to  protect  the  inhabi- 
tants of  one  country  by  shutting  out  the  goods  of  all  others. 
This  prohibition  included  both  the  manufactured  articles 
and  natural  products,  and  the  means  adopted  was  the 
placing  of  a  high  duty  on  imports.  If  the  political  leaders 
of  a  people  could  succeed  in  convincing  them  that  such 
a  course  would  raise  wages,  increase  the  opportunities  for 
accumulating  money,  and  make  them  in  general  more  pros- 


244  DAYBREAK. 

perous,  then  it  was  forthwith  adopted,  entirely  without 
regard  to  the  effect  it  might  have  on  the  rest  of  the  world. 
It  is  not  at  all  plain  to  be  seen,  from  reading  the  history  of 
those  times,  that  the  happiest  results  always  followed  the 
passage  of  these  laws,  but  the  experiment  was  tried  when- 
ever a  majority  felt  that  there  was  a  fair  expectation  of  such 
benefits.  The  only  question  considered  was  whether  it 
would  be  good  policy  for  their  particular  country.  And  if 
one  result  of  this  selfish  legislation  was  the  closing  of  mills 
and  the  loss  of  employment  to  thousands  of  workmen  in 
some  other  part  of  the  world,  these  facts  were  paraded  in  the 
public  prints  as  though  they  were  matter  for  rejoicing. 
Men  were  yet  to  learn  that  the  maxim  which  the  politicians 
were  fond  of  quoting,  '  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number,'  should  have  a  world-wide  application  to  give  it 
any  meaning  at  all." 

While  my  prejudices  were  receiving  another  shock,  I 
knew  the  doctor  was  really  enjoying  this  part  of  Thorwald's 
talk.  So,  in  order  to  draw  him  out,  I  said  to  him,  as  Thor- 
wald  paused  : 

"  Doctor,  I  think  our  friend  must  belong  to  your  party." 

"  I  should  rather  belong  to  his  party,"  replied  the 
doctor. 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Thorwald.  "  That  is  a  compliment 
which  I  appreciate ;  and  now  I  think  I  have  talked  long 
enough  for  one  sitting.  Let  us  get  some  lunch,  and  then  go 
out  for  a  good  walk." 

Thorwald  must  have  seen  that  the  doctor's  mood  was  soft- 
ening, but  he  probably  thought  it  wise  not  to  speak  more 
directly  to  him  at  present. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 


THE    CHILDREN  S    DAY. 


As  it  was  a  holiday,  the  children  accompanied  us  on  our 
walk,  and  we  had  further  opportunity  of  observing  the 
easy,  natural  relations  which  existed  between  them  and 
their  parents.  There  was  neither  undue  familiarity  nor  too 
much  restraint.  There  was  respect  as  well  as  alTection  on 
both  sides,  and  a  scrupulous  concern  for  each  other's  feel- 
ings. Evidently  the  children  had  all  the  rights  they  could 
appropriate  to  their  advantage,  while  there  was  no  abroga- 
tion of  the  privileges  or  the  duties  of  the  parents. 

At  a  convenient  time  during  the  afternoon  I  spoke  to 
Zenith  about  this  happy  condition  of  family  affairs,  and  I 
was  greatly  enlightened  and  not  a  little  amused  by  her 
reply. 

"  It  was  not  always  so,"  she  said.  "  One  of  the  sad  chap- 
ters of  our  history  tells  us  of  an  unfortunate  episode  in  the 
family  life.  In  the  early  days  the  father  had  complete  con- 
trol over  his  household,  even  the  lives  of  its  members  being  at 
his  disposal.  But  as  civilization  advanced  the  law  stepped 
in  and  protected  the  dependent  ones  from  too  harsh  punish- 
ment and  from  neglect.  In  time  sympathy  for  the  weak 
and  unprotected  made  all  corporal  punishment  unpopular, 
both  at  home  and  at  school,  and  soon  discipline  of  every 
kind  was  much  weakened.  There  appeared  to  be  a  growing 
impression  on  the  part  of  the  elders  that  there  could  not  be 


246  DAYBREAK. 

any  evil  in  the  child's  nature,  and  so  if  he  were  allowed  to 
grow  up  without  any  particular  training  he  would  not  go 
far  out  of  the  way.  It  seemed  to  be  overlooked  that  this 
was  something  new  in  the  history  of  the  race,  that  the 
experiment  had  never  been  tried  of  giving  the  youth  their 
own  way,  from  the  cradle  up.  It  had  been  taught  from 
very  early  times  that  the  child,  for  its  own  future  welfare, 
should  receive  correction,  and  the  teaching  had  never 
before  been  departed  from.  The  parents  might  just  as  well 
have  put  the  reins  of  family  government  in  the  hands  of  the 
children  at  once,  for  this  is  what  it  came  to  in  the  end. 
The  children,  released  from  all  restraint,  lost  first  their 
respect  for  their  elders,  and  then  all  regard  for  their  feel- 
ings. Instead  of  love  there  grew  up  a  careless  indifference, 
and  in  place  of  that  tender  thoughtfulness  so  necessary  to 
happiness  in  this  relation,  parents  began  to  receive  harsh 
and  even  cruel  treatment.  As  we  look  back  upon  it  now,  it 
seems  strange  that  the  result  was  not  anticipated,  and  the 
trend  of  events  changed  by  a  decided  stand  against  such 
an  unnatural  course.  But  the  approach  to  a  crisis  was 
insidious  and,  as  I  have  said,  history  furnished  no  parallel 
from  which  to  draw  a  warning. 

"  Two  things  made  it  the  worst  time  in  the  world  for 
parents  to  become  lax  in  their  discipline.  One  was  the 
growing  sentiment  in  favor  of  independence  which  was 
permeating  all  classes  of  society,  and  the  other  the  great 
revival  of  learning  among  the  people.  Given  a  large  class 
of  persons  highly  educated  and  taught  to  prize  personal 
liberty  above  everything  else,  and  still  without  the  dis- 
cretion that  comes  only  with  years,  and  what  could  be 
expected  of  them  when  left  with  no  strong  hand  to  guide 
them?  The  methods  of  education  improved  so  rapidly,  and 
there   were    such   constantly    increasing   opportunities   for 


THE    CHILDREN  S    DAY.  247 

obtaining  knowledge,  that  there  was  some  excuse  for  the 
children  in  getting  the  idea  that  they  knew  more  than 
their  fathers  and  mothers.  This  belief  v/ould  not  mider 
any  circumstances  improve  their  manners,  and  at  this  time 
it  only  caused,  them  to  despise  still  more  those  who  seemed 
willing  to  withdraw  a,ll  claim  to  authority  over  them.  Pre- 
cocity, which  had  never  been  a  popular  trait,  came  to  the 
front  with  no  modesty  to  relieve  its  disagreeable  character. 

"  But  the  conduct  of  the  youth  of  both  sexes  was  not  con- 
fined to  the  exhibition  of  bad  manners,  nor  to  the  mere 
passive  indulgence  of  an  undutiful  spirit.  These  led  grad- 
ually to  a  more  serious  phase  of  the  rebellion,  the  inaugu- 
ration of  a  series  of  petty  annoyances,  to  be  followed, 
naturally,  by  acts  of  downright  injustice  and  cruelty.  It 
seemed  as  if  the  old  years  of  oppression  to  which,  in  a 
ruder  age,  the  children  had  been  subjected,  were  about  to 
be  repeated,  with  the  parents  for  the  victims.  You  must 
not  suppose  that  these  vast  changes  came  about  in  the  course 
of  one  generation.  Just  as  a  sentiment  in  favor  of  liberty 
will  be  perpetuated  in  a  people  from  one  generation  to 
another,  and  increase  with  the  lapse  of  years,  so  this  feel- 
ing of  independence  of  parental  control  and  this  decadence 
of  natural  affection  were  transmitted  from  one  set  of  chil- 
dren to  the  next,  and  matters  grew  from  bad  to  worse. 

"  At  length  the  behavior  of  the  young  people  became  so 
notoriously  bad  that  the  matter  had  to  be  taken  out  of  the 
heretofore  sacred  precincts  of  home  and  treated  in  a  public 
manner.  The  press  tried  to  work  a  reformation  by  ridicule 
and  threats,  and  when  this  was  seen  to  have  no  eft'ect  the 
legislatures  took  up  the  subject,  and  actually  passed  laws 
'  for  the  relief  and  protection  of  oppressed  parents,'  and 
'  for  the  reestablishment  of  rightful  authority  in  the  home.' 
These  bold  measures   so    angered    the  children   that  they 


248  DAYBREAK. 

declared  they  would  not  submit  to  such  insults,  but  would 
take  the  matter  of  making  laws,  as  well  as  all  other 
branches  of  public  business,  into  their  own  hands.  They 
started  their  own  organs,  which  made  such  silly  declarations 
as  this  :  "'  We  are  young,  but  in  all  other  respects  we  are 
superior  to  our  elders.  We  have  more  intelligence,  more 
spirit  and  courage,  we  outnumber  them  two  to  one,  and, 
what  is  better  than  all  the  rest,  we  hold  them  already  in 
our  power.  So  why  should  we  not  use  that  power,  and  go 
•forward  and  destroy  every  vestige  of  their  authority?  Let 
them  work  and  earn  our  support,  and  we  will  do  the  rest.' 

"  And  now,"  asked  Zenith,  "  how  do  you  think  the  affair 
came  out?  " 

"  I  confess,"  I  answered,  "  that  I  shall  have  to  give  it 
up." 

"  Well,"  she  continued,  "  the  problem  was  solved,  as  so 
many  others  in  our  career  have  been,  when  the  needed  les- 
son had  been  learned,  without  our  being  subjected  to  the 
extremely  dire  results  which  seemed  so  imminent ;  and 
I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  tell  you  that  relief  came  through 
the  efforts  of  one  of  my  own  sex.  Just  before  the  last 
ounce  was  added  to  the  weight  of  foolishness  and  error 
which  was  to  turn  the  world  completely  over,  a  girl  made 
her  appearance  with  sense  enough  to  call  a  halt.  She  hap- 
pened to  be  editing  one  of  the  fiery  journals  of  her  class, 
when  it  stnick  her  one  day  that  they  were  carrying  the 
thing  too  far.  She  had  the  courage  to  say  so,  and  got 
roundly  abused  for  it.  She  persisted,  obtained  adherents 
and  helpers,  and  soon  a  decided  reaction  set  in.  Like  a 
house  of  cards,  which  a  breath  will  destroy,  the  unstable 
structure  the  children  had  built  fell  to  the  ground,  never 
to  be  restored. 

"  The    lesson   was   not  forgotten,   and    the    experience, 


THE    CHILDREN   S    DAY.  249 

which  appears  laughable  now,  has  been  of  great  benefit  to  us 
at  different  times  since.  But  the  broadening  of  our  minds 
and  the  general  improvement  in  our  character  have  long  ago 
placed  us  beyond  the  danger  of  a  recurrence  of  such  events. 
Compared  to  our  present  state  those  were  the  days  of  our 
infancy." 

As  Zenith  closed  I  told  her  I  had  enjoyed  her  story,  and 
that  I  hoped  the  earth  would  not  require  such  a  lesson. 

"  I  trust  not,"  said  Zenith. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 


BUSINESS    ETHICS. 


The  next  day  the  doctor  and  I  took  the  first  opportunity 
to  tell  Thorwald  that  we  were  anxious  to  have  him  proceed 
with  his  narrative. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  I  shall  be  glad  to  do  so,  for  I  had  not 
reached  the  important  part  when  our  sitting  broke  up  yes- 
terday. 

"  I  was  describing  to  you  a  remarkable  era  in  our  career, 
and  one  of  you  mentioned  the  fact  that  the  present  condi- 
tion of  your  race  corresponded  in  some  particulars  with  that 
age  on  Mars.  If  you  shall  discover  further  points  of  like- 
ness as  I  continue,  it  will  add  a  peculiar  interest  to  my  story. 

"  There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  among  our  historians  in 
regard  to  those  times.  Some  believe  that  the  whole  world 
was  corrupt,  that  it  was  an  .age  of  material  development 
only,  and  that,  if  there  were  any  good  impulses  at  all,  they 
were  so  smothered  with  selfishness  as  to  be  of  no  account. 
But  these  writers  lived  long  ago,  and  were  themselves  more 
or  less  under  the  shadow  of  that  epoch.  I  strongly  hold  to 
the  views  of  the  great  majority  of  our  scholars,  who  tell  us 
that,  while  there  was  too  much  evil  of  all  kinds,  there  was 
also  much  good,  and  many  believers  in  a  final  happy  issue 
out  of  all  the  troubles  of  the  time. 

"  In  a  society  so  entirely  given  up  to  the  pursuit  of 
wealth  and  worldly  advantage  of  every  sort,  those  who  were 


BUSINESS    ETHICS.  25  I 

trying  to  hold  up  the  standard  of  righteousness  and  to  al- 
leviate the  lot  of  their  fellow  beings  should  be  remembered 
with  gratitude.  Among  the  multitude  of  inventions  were 
many  that  were  calculated  to  relieve  the  laborer  of  his 
severest  tasks,  to  mitigate  suffering,  to  ward  off  disease,  and 
to  lighten  the  load  of  mankind  in  various  ways.  Large 
sums  of  money  were  given  for  hospitals,  charitable  institu- 
tions, and  colleges,  and  for  other  kinds  of  philanthropic 
work,  while  private  benevolences  were  not  uncommon. 
There  was  prosperity,  too,  of  a  certain  kind,  and  some 
people  were  happy,  or  thought  themselves  so.  In  the  records 
of  that  as  of  every  period  of  our  history,  it  is  possible  to 
find  rays  of  light  if  we  search  for  them,  and  I  tell  you  these 
things  in  order  that  you  may  get  a  fair  understanding  of  the 
situation,  for  in  what  follows  you  will  see  something  of  the 
other  side. 

"  I  think  I  shall  not  err  if  I  say  that  the  gigantic  evil  of 
the  times,  that  from  which  others  sprang,  was  the  inordi- 
nate love  of  money.  Even  political  power,  by  which  the 
opportunity  was  obtained  of  doing  public  service,  was  too 
often  sought  merely  for  the  better  chance  one  had  of  mak- 
ing money,  as  the  saying  was.  In  the  revolt  against  aristo- 
cratic government,  the  tendency  in  our  race  of  going  from 
one  extreme  to  the  other  was  again  shown,  and  universal 
suffrage  was  adopted.  This  would  have  been  wise  if  intelli- 
gence and  honesty  had  also  been  universal.  But  the  result 
proved  it  to  be  an  exceedingly  bad  policy,  for  it  created  a 
large  class  of  voters  who  held  the  high  privilege  of  citizen- 
ship so  meanly,  and  were  themselves  so  venal,  that  they 
w'ould  even  sell  their  votes  to  the  highest  bidder.  This, 
supplemented  by  the  immorality  of  some  of  the  intelligent 
citizens,  made  politics  corrupt  and  the  name  of  politician 
too  often  a  by-word. 


252  DAYBREAK. 

"  In  doing  business,  by  which  was  meant  buying  and  sell- 
ing and  manufacturing,  also  financial  dealings  and  com- 
merce, the  passion  for  money-getting  was  particularly 
prominent.  An  astonishingly  small  percentage  of  those 
that  went  into  business,  as  they  said,  made  a  success,  if  we 
except  the  large  manufacturers,  but  in  spite  of  that  it  was  a 
popular  way  of  earning  a  livelihood.  One  thing  that  made 
it  popular  was  the  fact  that  there  was  always  more  or  less 
speculation  in  it.  The  haste  to  get  rich  made  men  too 
careless  of  the  rights  of  others." 

"  Do  you  mean  that  all  business  was  conducted  dishon- 
estly? "   I  asked. 

"  No,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  not  as  men  looked  at  it 
then.  There  was  a  great  deal  of  downright  knavery  in  busi- 
ness, but  there  was  another  class  who  satisfied  their  con- 
sciences by  being  as  honest  as  they  could.  The  thoughtful 
ones  knew  the  system  was  \vrong  but  felt  themselves  utterly 
unable  to  replace  it  by  abetter  one,  and  feeling  no  responsi- 
bility for  it,  they  were  satisfied  to  smother  their  sensibilities 
and  drift  along.  They  had  their  living  to  make,  and,  though 
they  were  not  making  it  in  an  ideal  way,  they  did  not  know 
that  any  other  kind  of  work  would  be  more  satisfactory  to 
their  uneasy  consciences." 

"  Excuse  me,  Thorwald,"  I  said;  "  I  am  dull.  What  was 
there  wrong  in  their  manner  of  doing  business?  " 

"  Can  you  see  nothing  wrong,"  he  answered,  "  in  a  sys- 
tem where  one  man's  fortune  was  built  on  the  niins  of 
another's,  or  perhaps  a  score  of  others,  or  where  a  business 
was  started  and  increased  solely  by  drawing  from  another 
one  already  established?  " 

"Why,"  said  I,  "that  is  competition,  which  they  no 
doubt  thought  better  than  monopoly.  I  can  imagine  that 
they  argued  that  a  man's  first  duty  was  to  himself  and  his 


BUSINESS    ETHICS.  253 

family,  that  one  had  a  right  to  go  into  any  legitimate  busi- 
ness, and  that  others  must  take  care  of  themselves.  The 
evil,  if  there  was  any,  they  probably  felt  was  incident  to  the 
nature  of  business  and  could  not  be  helped.  I  would  like  to 
ask  how  society  could  exist  with  any  other  business  rules." 

As  I  closed  it  struck  me  that  I  had  spoken  pretty  fast  and 
without  much  discretion,  and  the  impression  was  not 
removed  as  Thorwald  answered  with  dignity : 

"  I  am  telling  you  the  state  of  things  on  this  planet  thou- 
sands of  years  ago,  and  it  is  a  sufficient  answer  to  your  ques- 
tion to  say  that  society  at  the  present  day  is  not  governed 
on  any  such  principles  ;  still,  we  seem  to  exist.  It  was  a 
favorite  saying  in  those  days  that '  a  man  must  live,'  and  one 
that  was  used  as  an  argument  or  excuse  for  questionable 
practices.  The  premise  was  wrong;  it  was  not  necessary 
to  live  :  death  would  have  been  far  better  for  the  world 
and  for  the  individual  than  a  dishonorable  life.  So  with 
society  at  large ;  better  a  change  in  the  social  structure, 
caused  by  an  awakened  conscience,  than  a  state  of  peace 
founded  on  wrong  principles.  Our  history  proves  that  no 
particular  plan  of  society  is  necessary  to  the  world  and  that 
no  order  based  on  selfishness  or  injustice  can  long  endure. 
But  do  not  imagine  such  changes  were  easy  or  swift  in 
accomplishment.  They  came,  not  by  violence  nor  by 
the  device  of  crafty  men,  but  only  through  the  universal 
betterment  of  the  race,  whereby  a  state  of  things  that  had 
been  considered  good  enough,  and  then  endured  as  the  best 
attainable,  became  at  last  positively  wrong  and  was  slowly 
pushed  aside  by  a  growing  sense  of  right. 

' '  To  return  to  your  first  question,  as  to  what  there  was 
wrong  in  their  way  of  doing  business,  I  want  to  say  with 
emphasis  that  the  essence  of  the  wrong  was  in  an  undue 
regard  for  self  and  an  almost  total  disregard  for  the  inter- 


254  DAYBREAK. 

ests  of  others.  There  were  exceptions  to  the  rule,  notably 
in  the  direction  of  charity  and  philanthropy  and  in  relig- 
ious work,  but  I  am  speaking  of  the  mass  of  the  business 
community.  It  was  every  man  singly  against  all  the  rest 
of  the  world.  No  man  was  his  brother's  keeper.  If  one 
did  not  look  out  for  himself,  that  was  the  end  of  it;  there 
was  no  one  else  to  do  it." 

"  But  the  system  itself  made  men  selfish,"  I  ventured  to 
say. 

"  To  be  sure  it  did,"  he  replied.  "  But  why  did  they 
not  then  abolish  the  system  before  it  had  brought  upon  them 
its  long  train  of  evils?     It  had  to  go  at  last." 

"But,"  I  asked  again,  ''was  not  competition  a  good 
thing  for  the  large  number  of  people  not  directly  engaged 
in  business?  Did  it  not  keep  down  the  prices  on  all  kinds 
of  commodities?  " 

"  Certainly  not  in  the  main.  It  increased  prices,  because 
it  increased  the  cost  of  everything.  But  let  us  suppose  a 
case  where  it  had  the  effect  you  suggest.  Could  a  man 
with  a  heart  wear  a  coat,  for  example,  with  any  pleasure,  if 
he  knew  that  rivalry  between  the  manufacturers  had  forced 
the  people  who  made  the  garment  to  accept  starvation 
wages  ?  And  this  was  done,,not  from  humanitarian  motives, 
to  furnish  the  poor  with  cheap  clothing,  but  for  the  purpose 
of  getting  more  business  and  so  of  making  more  money." 

I  could  hardly  resist  the  temptation  at  this  point  of  ask- 
ing Thorwald  if  he  had  not  been  reading  up  on  the  current 
history  of  the  earth,  but  I  knew  well  enough  that  was  not 
possible,  for  we  had  brought  no  books  with  us.  And  then 
I  did  not  care  to  tell  Thorwald  just  yet  how  near  he  was 
coming  to  our  experience.  But  I  could  not  endure  having 
the  props  knocked  from  under  our  social  structure  without 
another  effort  to  save  it.     So  I  said  : 


BUSINESS    ETHICS.  255 

"  But  were  not  the  great  majority  of  business  men  hon- 
est, and  were  not  these  instances  that  you  have  cited 
extreme  cases  ?  ' ' 

"They  were  the  natural  results  of  a  bad  system.  A 
great  many  men  were  as  honest  as  their  environment  would 
permit,  and  they  tried  to  convince  themselves  that  they  were 
not  responsible  for  the  environment." 

"  Were  they?  "    I  asked  eagerly. 

"When  they  at  last  discovered  that  they  were,  then 
began  a  radical  change.  I  am  not  exaggerating  the  evils  of 
the  times.  I  am  merely  setting  them  forth  to  show  you  how 
our  race  has  improved  with  its  maturity.  If  my  purpose 
required  it,  I  could  detail  many  good  things  in  the  life  of 
that  people.  One  bright  point  in  their  character,  to 
which  I  just  now  referred,  I  will  illustrate.  My  boy,  who 
is  also  my  student  in  drawing,  will  never  be  able  to  make  a 
straight  line  until  he  can  see  that  the  line  he  has  already 
made  is  not  straight.  His  improvement  depends  upon 
more  than  a  steady  hand.  So  with  this  people.  Deep 
down  in  their  being,  planted  by  a  divine  hand,  w-ere  the 
instinct  of  truth  and  the  principle  of  growth,  and  when,  in 
the  natural  course  of  their  development,  they  came  to  realize 
how,  unworthy  they  were  of  their  better  nature,  they  set 
about  the  work  of  improvement. 

"  But  they  came  to  that  knowledge  through  many  sad 
experiences.  I  have  not  begun  to  tell  you  the  number  and 
extent  of  the  evils  they  endured. 

"  The  desire  for  money  affected  all  classes.  The  general 
prosperity  had  bettered  the  condition  of  the  wage-earners, 
creating  many  artificial  wants  which  could  not  be  satisfied 
without  good  pay.  Hence  arose  a  natural  and  constant 
effort  to  obtain  higher  wages,  while  competition  among  the 
employers  operated  just  as  constantly  to  keep  them  down, 


256  DAYBREAK. 

and  the  result  was  a  sharp  and  increasing  antagonism  be- 
tween capital  and  labor.  The  general  public  shared  in  the 
blame  for  this  state  of  things  by  reason  of  the  almost  uni- 
versal demand  for  cheap  goods. 

"  While  the  introduction  of  machinery  was  a  real 
advance,  whose  benefits  we  are  reaping  to  this  day,  other 
conditions  had  not  become  adjusted  to  it  at  the  time  of 
which  we  are  speaking,  so  that  there  was  often  a  surplus  of 
workmen,  especially  in  the  lower  grades  of  labor.  This 
had  a  tendency  to  reduce  wages,  of  course  ;  and  the  want  of 
employment,  improvidence  in  the  use  of  small  wages,  in- 
temperance and  other  immoralities,  ignorance  and  misfor- 
tune, all  combined  to  keep  part  of  the  people  in  poverty. 
On  the  other  hand,  it  was  a  time  of  great  wealth  and  luxuri- 
ous living,  and  these  two  classes,  so  far  apart  in  their  man- 
ner of  life  but  often  so  near  each  other  in  all  their  selfish 
aims,  seemed  to  have  a  strong  mutual  attraction,  for  they 
were  always  found  together,  crowding  upon  each  other  in 
every  large  city. 

"  One  of  the  most  difficult  things  for  us  of  the  present 
day  to  imagine  is,  how  persons  of  refinement  and  sensibility, 
living  in  comfort  and  without  a  care,  could  take  any  pleas- 
ure in  life  when  they  knew  that  within  a  stone's  throw  of 
their  doors  were  human  beings  who,  \ery  often  through  no 
fault  of  their  own,  were  so  destitute  that  a  cnist  would 
relieve  their  want,  or  so  friendless  that  a  kind  word  would 
make  them  shed  tears  of  joy.  Oh  !  I  cannot  comprehend 
it,  and  yet  the  record  tells  us  there  were  cases  of  just  that 
nature,  where  such  people,  without  lifting  a  finger  to  allevi- 
ate the  distress,  actually  laughed  and  were  happy.  Happy  ! 
What  could  they  know  of  happiness?  The  word  must  have 
changed  its  meaning  wonderfully,  if  we  think  of  what  it 
signifies  to-day." 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


THE    INDUSTRIAL    PROBLEM. 


Thorwald  continued  as  follows  : 

"  The  unpleasant  relations  existing  between  the  employ- 
ers and  the  employees  created  a  host  of  troubles.  It  was 
an  unreasonable  feeling,  because  the  interests  of  the  two 
classes  were  identical.  But  as  capital  was  consolidated  and 
great  corporations  were  formed  for  extensive  operations  in 
transportation  and  manufacturing,  the  relation  between  the 
two  became  very  impersonal  and  difficult  to  control.  In 
order  to  protect  their  interests  the  wage-earners  organized 
into  unions,  brotherhoods,  etc.,  almost  every  trade  and  call- 
ing having  its  own  organization. 

"  When  these  associations  were  first  formed  much  stress 
was  laid  upon  their  incidental  benefits,  such  as  assistance 
in  time  of  sickness,  care  of  the  families  of  deceased  mem- 
bers, the  holding  of  meetings  for  discussion  and  mutual 
improvement,  and  the  establishment  of  reading-rooms  and 
libraries.  These  commendable  objects  would  have  been  a 
sufficient  excuse  for  the  existence  of  these  bodies,  and  other 
legitimate  ends  might  have  been  sought,  but  the  labor 
unions  did  not  stop  there.  They  instituted  and  set  in 
motion  the  powerful  machinery  of  the  strike,  as  it  was 
called,  making  it  effective  by  binding  their  members,  under 
severe  penalties,  to  stop  work  when  they  were  ordered  to  do 
so  by  their  leaders.  They  also  practiced  the  severest  measures 
17 


258  DAYBREAK. 

of  intimidation  upon  non-union  men,  to  prevent  them  from 
getting  employment. 

"  Thus  the  trades-unions,  too  often  governed  by  incompe- 
tent men,  became  a  mighty  power  for  evil.  Strikes  and 
lockouts  were  common,  and  were  followed  by  loss  of  wages 
and  consequent  suffering,  while  the  bitterness  of  feeling 
between  the  two  classes  constantly  increased.  To  meet  the 
rising  power  of  the  labor  organizations,  the  employers  felt 
obliged  to  form  combinations  among  themselves  and  some- 
times also  to  employ  bodies  of  armed  men  to  protect  their 
property.  Then,  when  a  strike  came,  conflicts  would  follow 
so  serious  that  appeal  had  to  be  made  to  the  last  resort, 
the  military  arm  of  the  nation.  Here  another  evil  threat- 
ened, for  the  individual  soldiers  would  sometimes  prove  to 
be  in  deep  sympathy  with  the  workmen  who  were  making 
the  trouble.  At  such  crises,  also,  there  would  appear  on 
the  scene  the  anarchist,  who  wanted  to  overthrow  society  at 
once  in  the  hope  of  bringing  himself  out  nearer  the  top, 
and  who  was  kept  comparatively  harmless  in  quiet  times. 

"  You  can  imagine  something  of  the  disorder  and  appre- 
hension caused  by  these  troubles.  No  contract  for  work 
could  be  made  without  the  stipulation  that  its  fulfillment 
must  depend  upon  freedom  from  strikes  in  that  particular 
trade,  and  no  man  could  start  on  a  journey  with  any  cer- 
tainty that  he  would  be  allowed  to  finish  it  in  peace  and  at 
the  appointed  time. 

"  To  decide  how  these  evils  should  be  remedied  proved 
to  be  one  of  the  greatest  problems  ever  presented  to  the 
people  of  that  age. 

"  Political  sages  had  long  before  promulgated  the  doc- 
trine upon  which  society  was  governed,  that  every  man  had 
a  natural  right  to  life,  liberty,  and  his  own  method  of  pur- 
suing happiness.     Now,  both  sides  in  the  conflict  claimed 


THE    INDUSTRIAL    PROBLEM.  259 

to  be  following  closely  the  spirit  of  this  fundamental  doc- 
trine. The  workingmen  declared  that  they  had  a  perfect 
right  to  organize  and  to  induce  all  their  number  to  join  the 
unions.  They  said  the  individual  relation  between  them 
and  the  employers  had  had  its  day  and  that  experience 
was  proving  to  them  that  every  concession  and  privilege 
they  hoped  to  get  must  come  through  their  associations, 
working  through  the  medium  of  an  agent  or  committee.  As 
independent  citizens  they  could  not  obey  laws  and  regula- 
tions in  the  making  of  which  they  had  no  voice,  and  their 
love  of  personal  liberty  would  not  allow  them  to  accept  the 
wages  and  hours  of  service  which  their  employers  might, 
without  asking  their  consent,  choose  to  prescribe.  In  case 
of  disagreement  they  asserted  their  right  to  stop  the  whole 
business,  at  whatever  loss  to  the  employers  or  inconvenience 
to  the  public,  and  to  prevent,  if  possible,  new  men  from  tak- 
ing their  places. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  the  employers,  while  not  denying 
to  the  workmen  the  right  to  form  associations  for  legitimate 
purposes,  insisted  that  this  right  was  being  abused.  They 
claimed  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  hire  whom  they 
pleased  and  dismiss  incompetent  men  when  it  was  best  for 
their  business,  without  regard  to  their  membership  or  non- 
membership  in  a  union. 

"  As  time  went  on  the  trouble  increased  and  society  was 
fast  forming  itself  into  classes  with  opposing  aims  and 
mutual  dislike.  The  time  had  been  when  a  workman,  by 
skill  and  diligence,  could  rise  above  his  station  and  become 
a  large  proprietor  himself.  But  with  the  new  order  this 
was  hardly  possible,  and  civilization,  in  this  respect, 
seemed  to  be  retrogressing. 

"  You  may  wonder  why  the  lawmakers  did  not  correct 
the  evil  at  once,  but  the  fact  was  that  the  legislatures  were 


26o  DAYBREAK. 

made  up  of  representatives  from  the  two  classes,  and  so  were 
undecided  as  to  what  remedies  to  apply.  It  was  proposed 
by  some  to  enact  a  law  preventing  a  man  from  selling  him- 
self into  slavery,  or,  in  other  words,  from  giving  up  his 
liberty  of  action  into  the  keeping  of  others,  a  thing  which 
had  caused  much  suffering.  In  every  strike  a  large  part  of 
the  men,  earning  small  wages  and  with  families  dependent 
on  these  wages  for  their  bread  from  one  day  to  another, 
would  be  obliged  to  quit  work  against  their  will.  It  was 
thought,  therefore,  a  fit  subject  of  legislation  to  enjoin  them 
from  binding  themselves  to  strike  at  the  dictation  of  others, 
when  it  was  against  their  judgment.  It  was  suggested,  also, 
to  make  the  intimidation  or  coercion  of  non-union  men  a 
criminal  act. 

"  When  these  measures  were  suggested  the  cry  was  raised 
that  the  workingmen  were  to  be  deprived  of  their  liberty 
and  made  the  slaves  of  capital.  The  labor  parties  in  the 
legislatures  were  assisted  by  a  class  of  politicians  who  were 
made  cowards  through  fear  of  losing  the  workingmen's 
votes,  and  this  gave  these  parties  the  power  to  defeat  all 
measures  of  which  they  disapproved,  and  to  pass  laws  in 
their  own  interest.  They  claimed  that  they  should  be  pro- 
tected as  well  as  the  manufacturer,  and  so  they  made  it  law- 
ful for  the  government  to  inspect  all  industries  and  to  see 
that  the  employees  received  an  equitable  share  of  the 
profits.  This  was  radical  action,  but  they  went  still  further, 
and  took  away  from  every  employer  the  right  of  discharging 
men  for  any  cause  without  the  consent  of  the  union;  and 
full  power  to  fix  the  hours  of  service  and  the  wages  was  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  government  inspectors  and  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  trades-unions.  The  wages  were  to  be  based 
on  what  the  inspectors  found  to  be  the  profits  of  the  busi- 
ness, and  the  help  or  advice  of  the  proprietors  was  not  to  be 


THE    INDUSTRIAL    PROBLEM.  '261 

taken.  As  these  astonishing  rules  governed  even  the  farmer 
and  shopkeeper  as  well  as  the  manufacturer,  you  can 
imagine  that  there  was  not  much  satisfaction  in  trying  to 
carry  on  any  business. 

"  The  laboring  classes  were  beginning  to  discover  that 
they  were  a  large  majority  of  the  community  and  that  there 
was  a  mighty  power  in  the  ballot.  Their  opponents,  on  the 
other  hand,  having  lost  the  control  in  politics  through  uni- 
versal suffrage,  now  bent  their  energies  still  more  to  the 
work  of  combining  large  interests  under  one  management, 
hoping  to  wield  in  this  way  a  power  too  formidable  to  be 
withstood.  Immense  trusts  were  formed  in  almost  every 
branch  of  business,  and  the  syndicate  gradually  took  the 
place  of  the  firm  and  individual  corporation. 

"  A  long  time  previous  to  the  period  of  which  we  are 
speaking,  the  people  had  put  part  of  their  business  into  the 
hands  of  the  government,  with  the  idea  that  it  would  be 
done  with  more  promptness  and  also  with  more  economy. 
A  good  example  of  this  was  seen  in  the  excellent  mail  ser- 
vice, which  the  national  government  conducted  much  more 
satisfactorily  than  it  could  have  been  done  by  private  enter- 
prise. 

"  The  local  goverments,  also,  had  full  control  of  the  high- 
ways and  bridges  and  the  common  schools,  hospitals,  etc., 
while  in  large  communities,  at  great  expense,  they  stored 
and  distributed  water  for  domestic  and  other  purposes. 
As  the  people  had  received  undoubted  benefits  from  this 
state  of  things,  there  were  few  to  object  to  it,  and  even 
their  objection  was  more  for  theoretical  than  practical  rea- 
sons. It  is  not  strange,  therefore,  that  as  the  troublous 
times  approached  these  functions  of  the  state  should  be 
multiplied.  Besides  the  gain  in  convenience  and  in  cost 
that  thus  came  to  the  people,  they  began  to  rely  on  the 


262  DAYRREAK. 

strong  arm  of  the  government  for  protection  from  the  uncer- 
tainties and  interruptions  incident  to  private  control  of 
many  kinds  of  business. 

"  As  the  telegraph  and  telephone  came  into  more  general 
use  the  government  found  it  necessary  to  add  their  facilities 
to  the  mail  service,  in  order  to  give  the  people  the  best  means 
of  communication.  From  this  point  the  step  was  soon  taken 
of  assuming  control  of  all  the  telegraph  and  telephone  lines, 
in  the  interest  of  lower  prices  and  better  service.  This  was 
attended  with  such  good  results  that  it  was  thought  wise  to 
extend  the  conveniences  of  the  mail  in  another  direction; 
and  instead  of  carrying  a  few  small  parcels  the  government 
took  into  its  hands  the  entire  express  business,  and  it  was 
not  long  before  everybody  conceded  it  to  be  a  good  move. 

"  At  the  same  time,  the  municipal  governments  began  to 
exhibit  the  same  paternal  character.  They  first  took  con- 
trol of  the  lighting  and  heating  facilities,  and  this  led  in  a 
short  time  to  their  furnishing  the  people  with  fuel,  which 
was  generally  brought  from  a  distance,  and  which,  in  private 
hands,  always  had  a  way  of  going  up  in  price  at  just  the 
time  when  the  poor  people  were  obliged  to  buy  it.  For 
the  sake  of  economy,  also,  the  cities  took  possession  of  all 
street  cars,  cabs,  and  omnibuses. 

"  Affairs  had  reached  this  condition  when  the  labor 
troubles  became  so  serious,  and  this  absorption  of  private 
business  by  the  government  was  so  recent  and  was  in  gen- 
eral so  satisfactory,  that  men  could  but  think  of  it  in  con- 
nection with  their  efforts  to  solve  the  industrial  ])roblcras. 
The  time  had  now  come  when  some  radical  measures  must 
be  adopted  to  ])reserve  and  extend  civilization.  The  labor 
])arty  were  abusing  their  power  still  more  in  making  bad 
laws,  and  strikes  became  more  frequent,  and  were  followed 
by  rioting  and  bloodshed.     At  length  the  interruptions  to 


THE    INDUSTRIAL    PROBLEM.  263 

business  occasioned  by  tlie  irregularities  in  traveling  became 
unbearable.  The  public  demanded  better  service,  but  the 
railroad  companies  were  powerless  to  render  it,  being  in  the 
hands  of  the  employees,  who  at  the  slightest  grievance  would 
stop  every  wheel  till  the  dispute  was  settled.  The  trouble 
generally  started  with  one  road  and  spread  to  the  others  by 
sympathy,  and  the  result  was  just  as  disastrous  to  business 
whether  the  men  gained  their  end  or  not. 

"  There  had  always  been  a  party,  although  at  times  pretty 
feeble,  in  favor  of  government  control  of  the  entire  trans- 
portation business.  This  party  now  argued  that  that  was  the 
only  thing  that  would  cure  these  evils,  and  they  gained 
thereby  many  new  adherents.  When  it  was  considered  that 
government  ownership  of  the  telegraph  was  working  well 
in  spite  of  many  adverse  prophecies,  the  people  began  to 
entertain  the  idea  that  it  would  perhaps  be  best  to  try  the 
experiment  with  the  railroads,  especially  as  it  gave  some 
promise  of  relief  from  the  strikes.  To  be  sure,  it  would  add 
to  the  government  service  immense  numbers  of  men,  and 
increase  a  danger  that  had  always  been  threatening,  that  of 
making  too  large  a  list  of  civil  officers  to  be  managed  with- 
out great  corruption. 

"  But  now  it  was  not  long  before  a  large  majority  of  the 
people  asked  to  have  the  trial  made,  and  soon  all  railroads, 
canals,  and  steamboats  were  in  the  hands  of  the  general 
government.  The  employees  were  formed  into  an  army, 
with  officers  of  all  grades,  and  put  under  strict  military  dis- 
cipline. At  the  least  show  of  insubordination  a  man  was 
discharged,  never  to  be  reemployed,  and  although  this 
caused  some  hardship  in  individual  cases  at  first,  it  put  an 
effectual  stop  to  the  strikes  and  kept  business  moving.  The 
best  of  the  workmen  had  been  among  the  strongest  advo- 
cates of  national  ownership,  and  as  the  movement  gained  in 


264  DAYBREAK. 

favor  no  class  were  so  satisfied  with  the  change  as  the 
employees  themselves.  Work  was  steady,  wages  were  regu- 
lar, faithfulness  and  length  of  service  were  rewarded,  and 
the  aged  and  feeble  were  retired  on  pensions. 

"  In  this  way  peace  had  come  in  one  department  of  labor, 
but  war  still  raged  among  the  manufacturers  and  in  the 
building  and  other  trades.  The  workingmen  literally  held 
the  reins  in  society,  but  did  not  know  enough  to  drive  away 
from  the  rocks.  Instead  of  taking  advantage  of  shorter 
hours  and  higher  wages  to  improve  their  minds  and  prepare 
themselves  for  a  better  condition,  they  were  too  apt  to  waste 
their  energies  in  denouncing  the  capitalists  and  in  trying  to 
force  still  greater  concessions  from  their  unwilling  employ- 
ers. They  would  loudly  demand  that  every  ancient  wrong 
endured  by  them  should  be  redressed,  and  then,  to  show 
their  idea  of  right,  they  would  compel  a  builder,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  a  contract,  where  time  was  more  precious  than  money, 
to  give  them  higher  wages  than  had  been  agreed  on ;  or 
they  would  boycott  to  bankruptcy  a  small  shopkeeper  who 
innocently  bought  goods  that  happened  to  be  made  by  non- 
union workmen. 

"  But  do  not  imagine  that  the  wrong  was  all  on  one  side. 
There  were  employers  who  were  unjust  and  cruel  when  they 
had  the  power,  unreasonable  in  argument,  and  boorish  and 
exasperating  in  their  manners.  Many  seemed  to  think 
they  were  a  different  class  of  beings  because  they  had  more 
money  than  their  workmen,  and  they  resented  the  idea  of 
the  latter  rising  above  the  station  in  which  they  were  born. 
They  raised  wages  only  when  forced  to  do  so,  and  consid- 
ered any  amount  of  profit  made  out  of  their  men  per- 
fectly legitimate.  When  want  came  they  would  give  in 
charity  to  the  unfortunate  ones  that  which  really  belonged 
to  them  by  right.     These  disagreeable  qualities  were  not 


THE    INDUSTRIAL    PROBLEM.  265 

possessed  alone  by  such  as  were  employers.  There  was  a 
class  of  rich  people  not  engaged  in  business,  and  although 
they  had  the  greatest  interest  in  the  perpetuity  of  society 
as  it  was,  many  of  them  considered  themselves  as  members 
of  a  superior  caste,  and  looked  down  with  disdain  upon  the 
majority  of  mankind,  and  the  real  masters  of  the  situation, 
who  had  to  work  for  their  daily  bread. 

"  It  was  against  this  class  especially  that  anarchy  was 
forging  its  thunderbolt.  The  freedom  of  the  press  and  free- 
dom of  speech  gave  the  socialist  and  anarchist  the  oppor- 
tunity to  promulgate  their  seditious  doctrines,  and  they 
looked  to  the  ignorant  and  depraved  portions  of  the  com- 
munity for  adherents.  By  the  successful  risings  of  the 
people  against  despotic  power  the  word  '  revolution  '  had 
gained  a  certain  nobility  of  sound  and  meaning,  and  now 
these  incendiaries  employed  it  to  mislead  the  credulous. 
They  promised  an  overturning  by  which  all  property  and 
money  should  become  a  common  fund  and  be  redistributed 
on  a  more  equitable  basis,  and  it  is  perhaps  not  to  be  wondered 
at  that  some  poor,  ignorant  ones,  seeing  the  vast  inequali- 
ties in  life,  should  be  carried  away  with  their  arguments. 
The  vision  of  a  society  where  all  should  share  alike  and 
live  on  the  same  scale  of  comfort  was  intoxicating.  But 
the  scheme  of  the  anarchist' was  not  based  on  love  and 
a  desire  to  promote  true  brotherhood.  Judging  from  the 
violent  means  proposed  to  bring  about  the  change,  it  seemed 
rather  to  be  based  on  hate.  In  preaching  their  doctrine  of 
personal  license  they  were  stealing  the  livery  of  freedom  in 
which  to  serve  their  selfish  lusts. 

"  While  the  vicious  and  ignorant  thus  threatened  society 
on  the  one  hand,  the  accumulation  of  enormous  wealth  by 
a  few  fortunate,  or  unfortunate,  men  was  thought  by  some 
to  be  a  menace  equally  serious.     It  was  argued  that  this 


266  DAYBREAK. 

could  not  go  on  without  making  the  poor  poorer  and  more 
numerous,  and  thus  emphasizing  and  perpetuating  the 
separation  of  the  two  classes. 

"  I  need  not  point  out  to  you  a  fact  that  you  must  realize, 
namely,  that  the  spring  of  action  with  too  many  men, 
the  one  cause  of  the  troubles  that  really  threatened  the 
foundations  of  society,  was  selfishness.  Can  you  imagine 
any  danger  from  all  these  movements  if  men  could  have 
suddenly  become  unselfish,  really  unselfish  ? 

"  I  hope  I  have  not  given  you  the  idea  that  all  the  world 
of  people  had  lost  their  heads.  As  in  the  history  of  nations 
of  that  period  war  seems  to  have  been  the  principal  occu- 
pation, so  in  the  social  life  of  the  people  the  evils  and  dan- 
gers are  most  prominently  seen.  But  all  this  time  there 
was  a  large  party  of  men  and  women  who  were  ali-\e  to  the 
perils  of  the  hour,  and  intent  on  seeking  the  best  means  to 
overcome  them.  This  party  was  made  up  of  many  repre- 
sentatives of  every  class,  rich  and  poor,  workingmcn  and 
employers,  and  included  the  great  mass  of  the  intelligent 
and  thoughtful  members  of  society. 

"  The  general  and  local  governments  were  carrying  on, 
with  marked  success  and  without  friction,  certain  kinds  of 
business,  while  in  many  other  departments  there  were  dis- 
order and  possible  ruin.  Time  brought  no  healing  power; 
the  troubles  increased  and  were  now  truly  gigantic.  Where 
should  help  be  found?  " 

As  Thorwald  paused  here,  the  doctor,  who,  I  thought,  had 
been  wanting  to  speak  for  some  time,  took  occasion  to  say  : 

"  Don't  tell  us,  Thorwald,  that  this  people  turned  over 
all  their  business,  both  industrial  and  professional,  to  the 
government,  and  made  machines  of  themselves.  I  am 
becoming  exceedingly  interested  in  them  and  hope  they 
found  some  better  release  from   their  woes.      I  am  sure 


THE    INDUSTRIAL    PROBLEM.  267 

there  are  a  number  of  methods  of  relief  which  they  might 
have  tried." 

"  I  am  glad  you  have  spoken,  Doctor,"  answered  Thor- 
wald,  "or  I  might  have  talked  you  to  death.  We  must 
really  break  off  now  and  get  out  of  doors." 

Mona  listened  to  different  portions  of  the  foregoing  con- 
versation. It  was  dull  amusement  for  her,  as  we  could  see' 
by  her  actions,  and  we  wondered  at  first  why  she  showed 
so  little  interest  in  it.  She  did  not  seem  to  realize  the  full 
significance  of  her  unique  position  in  our  circle.  As  the 
last  representative  of  the  race  of  moon  men,  she  had  now 
the  opportunity  of  learning  something  of  the  history  of 
two  sister  worlds,  and  one  would  suppose  that  she  would 
have  been  eager  to  hear  every  word  we  said.  She  had 
expressed  herself  more  than  once  as  anxious  to  know  all 
any  of  us  could  tell  her,  nor  did  she  hesitate  to  ask  ques- 
tions continually — and  intelligent  questions,  too.  But  she 
was  sympathetic  only  in  certain  directions,  having  a  laud- 
able curiosity  to  hear  about  any  of  the  pleasant  phases  of 
society,  either  on  the  earth  or  on  Mars.  But  when  Thor- 
wald  talked  of  the  former  troubles  experienced  by  his 
race,  or  when  we  compared  these  with  the  miseries  of  our 
own  times  on  the  earth,  Mona  became  an  indifferent 
listener. 

She  was  sitting  with  us  when  Thorwald  proposed  the  out- 
door exercise,  and  so  we  all  went  out  together.  As  we 
walked,  Thorwald  said  : 

"  Mona,  I  fear  you  have  not  been  enjoying  my  tedious 
talk  this  morning.  You  would  be  better  pleased,  I  am 
sure,  with  some  other  topic." 

In  her  sweet  accents,  so  charming  to  every  ear,  Mona 
responded  : 

"  I  hope  my  lack  of  attention  did  not  give  you  offense, 


268  DAYBREAK. 

Thorwald,  but  I  do  not  understand  the  things  you  have 
talked  about  to-day." 

"  Not  understand?  Why,  I  know  from  former  conver- 
sations with  you  that  such  things  are  not  beyond  your 
comprehension." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  Mona,  "  but  I  think  they  are,  for  I 
never  before  heard  anything  like  the  ideas  you  have 
advanced." 

"  We  shall  all  be  glad  to  learn,  then,  how  these  questions 
were  answered  and  these  wrongs  righted  by  your  ancestors." 

"  They  never  had  any  such  perplexities,"  responded 
Mona. 

"Which  means,  I  presume,"  said  Thorwald,  "  that  the 
race  became  so  far  advanced  before  your  time  that  the 
records  and  traditions  of  their  early  struggles  were  all 
forgotten." 

"  Oh,  no,"  she  sang  out,  "  that's  not  it.  What  had  they 
to  struggle  over?  " 

"  Was  it  then  so  easy  for  them  to  be  just?  "  asked  Thor- 
wald. 

"  Certainly,  and  I  have  been  exceedingly  surprised  to 
learn  by  your  long  talk  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as 
injustice." 

We  were  all  becoming  thoroughly  interested,  but  left  it 
for  Thorwald  to  continue  his  questions. 

"  Mona,"  said  he,  "  do  you  mean  that  your  people,  even 
in  the  remote  past,  were  entirely  ignorant  of  such  troubles 
as  we  have  been  speaking  about?  " 

"  Yes,  and  of  all  other  troubles.  I  am  sure  there  was 
always  only  peace  and  happiness  on  the  moon.  Strife  and 
hatred,  sorrow,  want,  and  misery  are  all  strange  words  to 
me,  and  entirely  unknown  except  as  I  have  heard  them  in 
your  conversation." 


THE    INDUSTRIAL    PROBLEM.  269 

"  Was  there  never  any  sickness  there?  "   I  asked. 

"  I  don't  know  the  meaning  of  the  word,"  she  replied. 
"Is  it  another  item  in  the  general  unpleasantness  of  the 
times  you  have  been  describing?  I  wonder  that  your  race, 
Thorvvald,  ever  survived  those  rude  days." 

"  But,"  asked  Thorvvald,  "  what  think  you  of  the  earth? 
The  doctor  and  his  companion  say  their  planet  is  now  pass- 
ing through  just  such  a  period." 

"  Well,  all  I  can  say  is  that  I  am  thankful  I  was  not  dis- 
covered till  after  the  moon  had  deserted  the  earth." 

"Tell  us  more  about  your  race,"  said  the  doctor. 
"  Were  they  all  as  good  as  you  are?  " 

"  Just  the  same.     There  were  no  degrees  in  goodness." 

"  And  did  they  all  sing  as  they  talked,  and  in  such  sweet 
tones  as  yours?  "   I  asked. 

"  Oh,  many  sang  better  than  I  do,  and  all  made  music 
of  their  words.  I  never  heard  speech  that  was  not  melodi- 
ous till  you  and  the  doctor  came  to  see  me." 

"  And  did  everything  else  in  your  life  there  correspond 
to  your  charming  manner  of  talking?  "  asked  Thorwald. 

"Why,  yes,  I  think  so,"  answered  Mona.  "It  was  a 
delightful  world.  Everything  was  bright  and  joyous,  with 
no  shadow  of  discontent  nor  anything  to  cause  sadness  or 
discomfort.  Do  you  wonder  that  I  could  not  sympathize 
with  your  story  of  wrongs  and  sorrows,  the  very  nature  of 
which  was  a  new  revelation  to  me?  " 

Mona's  notions  about  the  people  whom  she  represented 
seemed  strange  and  improbable  to  us,  and  we  attributed 
them  to  the  influence  of  her  own  guileless  nature.  One  so 
innocent  and  whole-hearted  as  she  was  would  naturally 
clothe  her  ancestors  with  at  least  the  virtues  and  graces  she 
herself  possessed.  However,  we  had  no  means  of  proving 
Mona's  ideas  to  be  false.     AVe  had  brought  away  from  the 


270  DAYBREAK. 

moon  no  records  of  any  kind  by  which  to  study  its  history, 
and  of  that  history  Mona  was  as  yet  our  only  interpreter. 
But  every  word  she  spoke  on  this  subject  only  added  inten- 
sity to  the  pleasurable  anticipation  with  which  these  Mar- 
tians looked  forward  to  their  study  of  the  moon  and  its 
former  inhabitants. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

ATTEMPTS    TO    SOLVE    THE    PROBLEM. 

It  was  not  till  the  next  day  that  we  sat  down  together 
again  to  continue  the  conversation.  Remembering  what 
the  doctor  had  said,  Thorwald  began  : 

"  In  sketching  for  you  the  history  of  that  age  of  activity 
and  change  in  our  career,  I  was  in  such  fear  of  wearying 
you  with  dry  details  that  I  hurried  along  and  omitted  the 
very  things  to  which  you  refer,  Doctor.  This  people  did 
try  all  the  experiments  that  suggested  themselves,  and  if 
you  think  your  patience  will  endure  it  I  will  speak  of  a 
few  of  them." 

We  both  assured  him  that  we  would  gladly  listen,  and 
that  we  considered  ourselves  fortunate  in  having  such  an 
instructor.  He  was  merely  telling  us  about  a  certain  period 
in  the  history  of  Mars,  but  if  he  had  known  how  nearly  he 
had  been  coming  to  the  course  of  events  on  the  earth  he 
would  not  have  wondered  that  we  were  so  eager  to  hear  all 
he  had  to  say. 

"Quite  early  in  the  labor  difficulties,"  he  resumed, 
"state  arbitration  had  its  day;  a  short  one,  however,  for 
the  appointment  of  the  arbitrators  soon  became  a  matter  of 
partisan  politics,  and  their  influence  was  gone.  Whichever 
side  was  in  power  could  appoint  a  board  that  would  be  pre- 
judiced in  favor  of  that  side  from  the  start,  and  when  the 
trouble  came  the  other  party  would  not  have  confidence 
enough  in  their  judgment  to  accept  their  decision. 


272  DAYBREAK. 

*'  Next,  laws  were  passed  making  arbitration  compulsory, 
but  allowing  the  arbitrators  to  be  chosen  at  the  time  of  the 
strike,  the  employer  to  name  one,  the  workmen  one,  and 
these  two  to  find  the  third.  This  did  some  good  as  long 
as  only  first-class  men  were  selected,  but  a  few  flagrant  cases 
occurred  where  the  arbitrators,  who  were  allowed  to  inspect 
the  books  of  the  concern,  made  public  the  private  affairs 
of  the  business,  to  the  great  injury  of  the  owners.  This 
brought  the  law  into  disfavor,  and,  as  there  was  no  provision 
for  enforcing  the  decisions,  it  came  to  pass  that  they  were 
often  disregarded;  and  so,  before  long,  this  plan  of  settling 
disputes  was  also  abandoned. 

"  For  a  good  many  years  no  other  subject  so  completely 
filled  the  public  mind  as  this  very  troublesome  one,  and 
people  of  all  professions  were  continually  suggesting 
remedies.  It  was  held  by  many  to  be  a  good  working 
theory  that  the  employees  in  every  business,  whether  indus- 
trial, mercantile,  or  financial,  were  entitled  to  some  share 
in  the  profits  over  and  above  their  compensation  in  wages. 
This  was  disputed  by  the  large  majority  of  the  employers, 
who  claimed  that  their  contract  with  the  workmen  was  a 
simple  one,  by  which  they  agreed  to  work  so  many  hours 
for  so  much  pay,  and  as  this  was  their  due  even  if  the 
business  proved  a  losing  one,  so  they  had  no  just  claim  to 
anything  more  if  it  were  successful  :  the  employees  had 
nothing  to  do  or  say  about  the  question  of  profits.  On  the 
other  hand,  where  a  number  of  men  had,  by  long  and  faith- 
ful service,  a  strict  regard  for  the  welfare  of  the  business, 
and  loyalty  to  all  of  the  employer's  interests,  helped  to 
build  \ip  a  great  industry,  an  increasing  number  of  people, 
not  only  the  wage-earners  but  many  others  not  directly 
interested,  felt  that  the  workmen  had  fairly  gained,  if  not 
a  share  in  the  proprietorship,  at  least  some  consideration 


ATTEMPTS    TO    SOLVE    THE    PROBLEM.  273 

from  the  owners.  This  feeling  was  especially  strong  in 
cases  where  the  laws  of  the  land  had  materially  aided  the 
success  of  the  business,  and  where  the  profits  were  unusu- 
ally large. 

"  I  want  to  say,  in  passing,  that  it  is  by  such  indications 
as  the  existence  of  this  sentiment  that  we  can  see,  all 
through  those  troublous  times,  the  gradual  improvement  of 
the  race. 

"As  some  of  the  employers  came  to  be  impressed  with 
the  same  thought,  they  began  in  a  quiet  way  trying  the 
experiment  of  giving  their  men  a  bonus  at  the  end  of  the 
year,  proportioned  to  the  amount  of  wages  they  earned. 
In  some  cases  this  gave  place  after  a  time  to  the  plan  of 
making  the  workmen  regular  partners,  and  giving  them  a 
certain  percentage  of  the  profits  in  lieu  of  wages.  But 
when  a  time  of  general  depression  came  and  the  percentage 
did  not  amount  to  as  much  as  their  old  pay  had  been,  the 
men  felt  as  though  they  had  been  led  into  a  trap,  and  after 
they  had  endured  the  situation  for  a  time  they  were  glad  to 
return  to  the  former  system. 

"  Another  scheme  that  was  extensively  tried  was  coopera- 
tion among  the  workingmen,  both  in  manufacturing  and 
mercantile  business.  The  argimient,  which  was  a  plausible 
one,  was  that  the  expense  of  big  salaries  for  management, 
together  with  the  enormous  profits,  would  all  be  available 
for  dividends.  The  results  showed  that  in  the  long  nm  the 
profits,  in  all  but  exceptional  cases,  were  not  more  than  a 
fair  interest  on  the  investment ;  and  as  to  the  salaries,  it 
was  found  that  financial  and  business  ability  was  scarce 
and  costly,  and  yet  necessary  to  success.  The  associations 
of  workingmen  were  willing  to  put  their  money  into  build- 
ings, machinery,  and  stock,  and  the  men  were  ready  to  work 
hard  themselves,  but  they  were  not  willing  to  pay  for  skill 


2  74  DAYI'.REAK. 

in  management,  and  so  their  failure  was  inevitable.  At 
the  same  time  they  still  held  to  the  opinion,  which  was  at 
the  bottom  of  these  experiments,  that  under  the  old  system 
the  owners  and  managers  of  the  business  got  too  much  of 
the  profits  and  the  operatives  too  little.  Is  there  anything 
else.  Doctor,  that  you  think  these  people  might  have 
tried?" 

"  I  am  not  satisfied,"  the  doctor  answered,  "  with  their 
efforts  at  profit-sharing.  It  seems  to  me  that  that  scheme, 
under  proper  management,  ought  to  have  brought  the  two 
classes  together  by  giving  them  a  common  interest  in  every 
enterprise,  and  so  to  have  gradually  done  away  with  all 
bitterness  and  strife.  Employers  might  have  used  a  part 
of  their  surplus  profits  in  building  better  houses  for  their 
men,  in  giving  them  instruction  as  to  a  nobler  way  of  living, 
in  opening  libraries  and  bath-houses  and  cooking  schools 
and  savings  banks,  in  keeping  them  insured  against  sick- 
ness and  death,  and  in  doing  a  thousand  things  to  show  the 
men  that  they  were  thoughtful  of  their  comfort  and  welfare. 
If  the  workmen  could  discover  by  such  means  that  the 
employers  were  really  their  friends,  I  think  it  must  have  dis- 
armed their  hatred  and  antagonism.  Then  if,  with  these 
benefits,  they  could  have  received  in  money  a  small  percent- 
age above  their  usual  wages,  they  would  certainly  have 
repaid  such  friendliness  by  a  service  so  faithful  and  an 
industry  so  constant  as  to  more  than  make  up,  in  increased 
profits,  for  all  the  philanthropic  expenditures." 

"  Doctor,"  said  Thorwald,  "  I  am  pleased  to  see  you 
take  such  an  interest  in  this  subject.  You  talk  as  though 
you  had  thought  of  it  before,  and  you  have  outlined  almost 
the  exact  course  pursued  by  the  people  of  whom  we  are 
speaking.  Hundreds  of  such  experiments  were  tried  and 
})ersisted  in  for  a  long  time,  both  before  the  serious  labor 


ATTEMPTS    TO    SOLVE    THE    PROBLEM.  275 

troubles  began  and  after.  Among  their  strongest  advocates 
were  men  of  theory  in  the  professions,  who  were  actuated  by 
high  motives  but  did  not  appreciate  the  practical  difficul- 
ties. They  were  pretty  sure  they  could  get  along  with  the 
workingmen  without  so  much  friction.  But  the  profit- 
sharing  scheme  also  had  the  aid  of  many  excellent  men 
among  the  employers,  as  I  have  said.  However,  for  one 
reason  or  another,  the  experiments  all  came  to  naught.  In 
some  cases  great  expense  was  entered  into  to  provide  com- 
forts for  the  workmen,  and  after  a  few  prosperous  years 
depression  followed  and  the  proprietors  found  they  had 
undertaken  too  much.  Several  large  failures,  brought  about 
by  such  lack  of  judgment,  helped  to  produce  disappoint- 
ment and  discouragement.  Then  it  was  found  by  experi- 
ence that  the  evil -disposed  among  the  workmen  were  not  to 
be  converted  into  honest,  industrious,  and  faithful  employ- 
ees in  any  such  wholesale  manner.  Making  men  over 
could  not  be  done  in  the  block.  There  never  had  been  any 
difficulty  in  dealing  with  the  sober,  reasonable,  well-inten- 
tioned men.  The  trouble  had  all  come  from  the  vicious, 
the  incompetent,  and  the  shiftless  ones.  And  the  more 
privileges  this  class  obtained,  the  more  they  demanded. 
If  their  working  day  was  made  shorter  in  order  to  give  them 
the  opportunity  of  taking  advantage  of  the  free  facilities  for 
improving  their  minds,  they  loudly  demanded  another  hour 
each  day  and  frequent  holidays,  with  the  liberty  of  spend- 
ing their  leisure  time  as  best  suited  their  tastes.  If  they 
were  given  a  share  of  the  profits,  they  complained  because 
it  was  so  small  a  share,  and  thought  they  were  being  cheated 
when  the  proprietors  would  not  let  them  inspect  the  books 
to  see  if  the  profits  were  not  larger  than  represented.  Then 
as  partners  they  claimed  the  right  to  be  consulted  in  the 
manasrement  of  the  business.     Such  demands  brought  on  dis- 


276  DAYBREAK. 

putes,  of  course  ;  and  the  natural  result  was  that  strikes  were 
not  unknown  even  in  these  humanitarian  establishments. 
As  the  labor  organizations  were  then  in  full  blast  the  better 
class  of  men  were  drawn  into  the  strikes,  which  sometimes 
became  so  serious  that  the  owners  were  compelled  to  give 
up  their  philanthropic  efforts  and  go  back  to  the  old  sj-stem 
of  giving  what  they  were  obliged  to  and  getting  what  they 
could  in  return. 

"  In  general,  employers  found  they  had  still  an  unan- 
swered problem  on  their  hands.  An  undue  spirit  of  inde- 
pendence had  been  fostered  among  a  class  of  uneducated, 
ill-natured,  and  thick-headed  workmen,  and  society  was 
rocked  to  its  foundation  in  the  effort  to  keep  them  within 
bounds." 

"  Will  you  let  me  make  another  suggestion,  Thorwald?  " 
asked  the  doctor.  "  Why  did  not  all  classes  approach  this 
difficulty  in  a  businesslike  way  and  work  together  to  remove 
it?  Why  did  not  the  state  see  that  the  right  of  private 
contract  was  a  safe  and  useful  one  for  all  sides,  and  cease  to 
infringe  on  it  by  law?  Why  did  not  the  public  teachers 
make  a  combined  and  continued  effort  to  instill  a  concilia- 
tor}' spirit  into  both  sides,  and  to  show  how  peace  and 
brotherly  feeling  would  be  a  mutual  blessing?  Why  did 
not  the  employers — not  one  here  and  there,  but  all  of  them — 
treat  their  men  as  they  would  like  to  be  treated  in  their 
place,  make  friends  with  them,  talk  reason  even  to  unrea- 
sonable men,  speak  kindly  to  the  unfriendly  ones,  urge  the 
value  of  sobriety  upon  the  intemperate,  teach  the  incom- 
petent, sympathize  with  the  unfortunate,  try  to  reclaim  the 
vicious  instead  of  turning  them  off  harshly,  and  in  every 
way  strive  to  prove  themselves  to  the  men  as  beings  of  the 
same  flesh  and  blood  with  them?  And  why  did  not  the 
workingmen  receive  what  was  done  for  them  with  the  right 


ATTEMPTS    TO    SOLVE    THE    PROBLEM.  277 

spirit — give  up  their  envious  and  suspicious  feelings,  im- 
prove every  precious  chance  of  getting  knowledge,  work  for 
their  employers  as  they  would  for  themselves,  cease  to  use 
the  power  of  the  unions  unjustly,  cultivate  amicable  rela- 
tions with  everybody,  and  try  in  all  possible  ways  to  make 
true  men  of  themselves  ?  If  the  men  had  worked  along  this 
line  they  would  have  found  they  were  bettering  themselves 
in  every  way  faster  than  they  could  by  strikes  and  conflicts." 

"  Ah  !  Doctor,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  you  have  now  the 
true  solution.  Such  action  would  have  annihilated  the 
difficulties  in  a  day.  But  to  suppose  every  employer  and 
every  workman  capable  of  following  such  good  advice  is  to 
suppose  that  the  world  had  then  reached  an  almost  ideal  con- 
dition. The  very  existence  and  character  of  the  troubles 
show  how  imperfect  men  were.  It  was  a  common  saying  then 
that  human  nature  was  the  same  as  it  had  been  in  the  earli- 
est days  and  that  it  would  never  change  while  the  world 
should  stand.  This  was  a  mistaken  view,  for  there  had 
been  a  great  change.  The  heart  had  lost  much  of  its  selfish- 
ness and  had  begun  to  grasp  in  some  slight  measure  a  sense 
of  that  distant  but  high  destiny  to  which  it  had  been 
called." 

"  If  the  world,"  said  the  doctor,  "  was  not  good  enough 
for  these  troubles  to  be  cured  by  kindness,  I  am  anxious  to 
know  how  they  were  healed.  I  am  sure  you  can  tell  us,  for 
those  people  were  your  remote  ancestors  and  you  are  far 
removed  from  such  vexations  now." 

"That  is  true,"  said  Thorwald.  "I  can  tell  you  how 
this  social  problem  was  solved,  and  how  our  race  has  found 
release  from  the  many  dangers  that  have  threatened  us.  It 
has  not  been  by  man's  device  or  invention.  But  God, 
whose  arm  alone  has  been  our  defense,  has  always  called 
men  to  his  aid,  and  thus,  in  his  own  time  and  way,  help 


278  DAYBREAK. 

has  come  in  every  crisis.  Tlie  most  important  changes  in 
society  have  been  brought  about  gradually  and  without 
violence,  and  with  that  hint  I  think  we  had  better  leave 
this  subject  for  the  present.  Some  day  I  want  to  go  over 
with  you  briefly  the  history  of  the  work  and  influence  of  the 
gospel  of  Jesus  in  the  world,  and  it  will  then  be  fitting  to 
refer  again  to  the  period  of  which  we  have  just  now  been 
speaking. 

"  I  am  sure  you  will  find  itagreat  relief  for  me  to  change 
the  subject,  or  stop  talking." 

*'  We  will  not  object  to  your  changing  the  subject,"  said 
I,  "  whenever  you  think  it  best,  but  we  shall  try  to  keep 
you  talking  till  we  know  a  great  deal  more  about  Mars  than 
we  do  now. ' ' 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 


WINE-DRINKING    IN    MARS. 


I  WENT  downstairs  the  next  morning  before  the  doctor 
was  ready,  and  when  I  met  Thorwald  I  said,  witliout 
thought :  "  A  fine  morning." 

''Yes,"  he  replied,  "all  our  mornings  are  fine.  I  do 
not  mean  that  the  sun  is  always  shining  or  that  we  do  not 
have  clouds  and  a  variety  of  sky  effects,  but  we  know  the 
clouds  can  be  depended  on  not  to  give  rain  till  night." 

"  Do  you  not  lose  something  by  having  a  perpetual 
calm?"  Tasked.  "  For  I  understand  the  rain  in  the  night 
comes  only  in  gentle  showers.  In  our  rough  world  some 
of  us  enjoy  the  grandeur  of  the  storm." 

"  How  about  those  who  are  exposed  to  its  fury?"  asked 
Thorwald  in  reply.  "  I  do  not  see  how  anyone  can  really 
enjoy  what  is  sure  to  be  bringing  sorrow  or  even  inconven- 
ience to  others.  Could  a  mother  take  pleasure  in  a  tempest 
if  she  knew  her  son  was  in  danger  of  shipwreck  from  it? 
Why  should  it  change  her  feeling  to  know  her  son  was  by 
her  side  and  that  it  was  only  strangers  that  were  in  danger? 

"  But,"  continued  Thorwald,  "  are  you  and  your  friend 
ready  for  an  excursion  to-day  ?  If  you  are,  I  propose  to  give 
you  a  new  experience." 

"  We  shall  be  delighted  to  accompany  you,  and  as  I  see 
breakfast  is  ready  I  will  go  up  and  tell  the  doctor  to 
hurry." 


28o  DAYBREAK. 

"Oh,  I  wouldn't  do  that,"  exclaimed  Thonvald. 
"  You  must  try  to  learn  to  live  as  we  do,  and  you  will 
remember  I  said  the  other  day  that  we  are  never  in  haste. 
If,  for  example,  it  were  Zenith  who  was  late,  I  should  never 
think  of  calling  to  her  to  hurry,  for  I  should  know  she  must 
have  a  good  excuse  for  staying.  Her  liberty  of  action  is  as 
valuable  to  her  as  mine  to  me,  and  however  long  she  might 
keep  me  waiting,  I  should  feel  sure  that  her  action  was  the 
result  of  right  motives  and  correct  reasoning.  If  the  doctor 
does  not  appear,  we  can  easily  postpone  our  excursion  to 
to-morrow.  There  would  be  no  lack  of  occupation  for 
to-day." 

"  What  a  delightful  feeling  it  must  be,"  I  said,  "  to  be 
always  free  from  hurry.  It  is  the  commonest  experience  in 
our  imperfect  state  for  one  to  start  a  few  minutes  late  in  the 
morning,  and  then  be  on  a  constant  jump  all  day  to  make 
them  up.  One  of  the  evils  of  our  driving  age  is  the  wear 
and  tear  of  our  nerves  in  what  we  consider  a  necessary  haste 
to  get  there." 

"  Get  where?  "   asked  Thorwald. 

"  To  get  anywhere  or  to  do  anything  that  we  set  out  to 
accomplish,"  I  answered. 

"  I  fear,"  said  Thorwald,  "  that  I  have  talked  too  much 
about  Mars  and  not  insisted  enough  on  hearing  about  the 
earth.  Suppose  something  should  happen  to  break  off  your 
visit?" 

"  You  wouldn't  miss  much,  Thorwald." 

"  We  certainly  should  regret  exceedingly  not  learning 
many  things  that  you  could  tell  us,"  he  said. 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  "  but  you  cannot  profit  by  our  experi- 
ences, while  we  of  the  earth  are  in  a  condition  where  we 
need  all  the  help  and  advice  you  have  for  us.  If  we  ever 
return  to  our  home  we  want  to  tell  all  about  your  advanced 


WINE-DRINKING    IN    MARS.  28l 

civilization  and  how  you  have  overcome  the  evils  that  vex  our 
race.  But  I  wonder  why  the  doctor  doesn't  come.  I  think 
I  will  go  and  see,  but  I  promise  not  to  interfere  with  his 
liberty  of  action." 

I  soon  returned  with  my  friend,  and  we  all  went  to  break- 
fast. The  doctor  said  he  would  not  eat  much,  as  he  felt 
somewhat  indisposed.  Here  was  something  new  inthe  life 
of  this  household,  and  each  one  began  to  express  sympathy 
and  ask  what  could  be  done.  The  doctor  was  amused,  and 
I  said  I  thought  a  good,  hearty  breakfast  would  make  him 
all  right.  But  Thorwald  insisted  that  something  unusual 
should  be  done,  although  his  inexperience  was  so  great  that 
nothing  feasible  suggested  itself  at  first.  Zenith  was  in 
favor  of  all  repairing  to  the  library,  hunting  up  the  histo- 
ries of  the  days  when  people  were  ill,  and  finding  out  the 
proper  remedy  for  his  ailment.  This  would  have  been  a 
logical  proceeding,  but  I  thought  to  myself  that  they  did 
not  understand  the  value  of  time  in  such  cases  and  that  the 
doctor  would  probably  either  r-ecover  or  die  while  they  were 
at  work. 

As  I  did  not  appear  to  be  any  more  alarmed  than  my 
companion  was,  the  excitement  soon  subsided.  But  Thor- 
wald was  not  satisfied  yet,  and  after  some  further  thought 
his  face  brightened  and  he  asked  me  if  a  glass  of  good  wine 
would  not  be  the  thing  for  the  doctor.  When  I  replied 
that  it  would  probably  not  hurt  him,  Thorwald  told  his  son 
to  go  and  bring  up  a  bottle  of  the  oldest  wine  in  the  cellar, 
and  soon  not  only  the  patient  but  the  members  of  the  family 
and  myself  were  all  partaking.  No  more  was  heard  after 
this  of  the  doctor's  indisposition,  and  Thorwald  no  doubt 
felicitated  himself  that  he  had  effected  a  cure.  The  situa- 
tion was  rather  suggestive  to  me,  and  while  we  were  drinking, 
and  eating  our  breakfast,  I  could  not  refrain  from  saying  : 


282  DAYBREAK. 

"  If  some  of  our  friends  on  the  earth  could  see  us  now, 
Thorwald,  we  would  be  discredited  in  all  that  we  might  say 
about  your  higher  condition.  It  would  do  no  good  to 
expatiate  on  your  ripe  character  and  on  your  attainments  in 
knowledge  and  virtue.  I  fear  they  would  not  believe  much 
of  it  if  they  knew  that  you  not  only  drank  wine  yourselves, 
but  encouraged  its  use  by  giving  it  to  your  guests." 

"  Why,"  said  Thorwald,  "  you  could  tell  them  the  wine 
was  brought  out  to  be  used  as  a  medicine,  antl  that  the  rest 
of  us  drank  to  keep  the  doctor  company.  But  when  you  see 
your  friends  you  had  better  tell  them  the  tnith  at  once,  that 
while  we  all  take  wine  here  frequently  this  is  the  only 
instance  where  I  have  ever  known  it  to  be  used  medicinally." 

"  They  would  tell  us,"  said  the  doctor,  ''  that  you  have 
made  one  mistake  at  least,  and  that  it  is  a  dangerous  thing 
to  have  wine  in  the  house,  and  especially  to  give  it  to 
children." 

"  He  would  have  a  very  gross  and  imperfect  conception 
of  our  character,"  said  Thorwald,  "who  should  have  the 
thoughts  which  you  express.  I  can  judge  something  of  the 
nature  of  the  feeling  which  you  say  exists  on  the  earth, 
however,  for  only  a  few  days  ago  I  was  reading  a  full  ac- 
count of  the  different  temperance  movements  on  our  planet. 
Few  subjects  in  our  history  arc  more  interesting.  Do  not  de- 
spise the  temperance  reformers,  and  if  you  think  they  are 
sometimes  too  radical  you  can  afford  to  excuse  that  for  the 
sake  of  the  absolute  good  they  accomi)lish.  All  through  the 
early  part  of  our  career  there  was  a  ])crpetual  warfare  against 
the  drinking  habit.  At  first  wine  was  an  ordinary  article  of 
food,  and  in  some  countries  more  commonly  used  for  drink- 
ing than  water.  There  was  much  abuse  of  it,  but  in  general 
people  used  it  as  a  matter  of  course,  without  thinking 
they  were  any  more  responsible  for  the  drunkards  than  they 


WINE-DRINKING    IN    MARS.  283 

were  for  the  intemperate  in  eating.  But  the  evil  of  over- 
drinking increased,  and  some  religious  reformers  found  that 
the  easiest  way  to  check  it  was  to  forbid  all  use  of  intoxi- 
cants. Here  is  an  extreme  example  that  I  have  read  of  what 
one  such  reformer  taught :  '  If  a  single  drop  of  alcoholic 
liquor  should  fall  into  a  well  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
deep,  and  if  the  well  should  afterwards  be  filled  up  and 
grass  grow  over  it,  and  a  sheep  should  eat  of  the  grass,  then 
my  followers  must  not  partake  of  that  mutton.'  Could  any 
of  your  prohibitionists  be  more  radical  than  that? 

"  In  later  times  many  kinds  of  strong  and  poisonous 
drinks  were  made,  and  untold  harm  was  done  by  their  use. 
Drunkenness  was  the  most  fruitful  source  of  crime  and 
misery;  it,  more  than  any  other  cause,  filled  the  jails,  the 
almshouses  and  the  insane  asylums  ;  it  kept  men  in  poverty 
and  squalor;  it  scattered  families  and  changed  men,  and 
sometimes  women,  too,  into  beasts.  No  class  or  profession 
was  free  from  the  evil,  for  it  disqualified  the  scholar  and 
statesman  for  their  duties  just  as  it  unfitted  the  laborer  for 
his  daily  task.  It  helped  to  debauch  politics  and  public 
morals,  while  it  brought  disgrace  and  ruin  to  private  repu- 
tation and  character.  More  money  was  lost  by  it  than  was 
spent  to  educate  and  Christianize  the  world,  and  it  cost  more 
precious  lives  than  war  and  pestilence  combined.  Being  a 
crime  utterly  selfish  and  debasing,  as  well  as  extremely 
tenacious  of  its  hold  upon  the  individual  life,  it  was  almost 
the  greatest  enemy  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

"  Was  there  anything  in  the  way  of  good  to  be  said  of 
the  drinking  habit  to  offset  all  this  harm?  Men  drank  to 
be  sociable  and  companionable  and  to  please  their  friends, 
and  when  the  habit  was  fastened  on  them  found  they  had 
lost  every  friend  of  value.  They  took  to  their  cups  to 
drown   their  sorrow,   and  found    a  sorrow   more   poignant 


284  DAYBREAK, 

among  the  dregs.  They  began  the  moderate  use  of  stimu- 
lants to  give  strength  to  the  body  or  activity  to  the  brain, 
and  discovered  when  too  late  that  their  abuse  had  brought 
down  in  common  ruin  both  body  and  mind.  No,  it  is 
impossible  that  anyone  should  ever  attempt  to  make  an 
argument  in  favor  of  drunkenness. 

"  The  more  active  the  age  the  more  prevalent  was  this 
evil,  but  the  greater,  also,  was  the  determination  to  overthrow 
it.  When  the  conscience  was  quickened  by  the  growth  of 
Christianity  and  men's  lives  became  more  valued,  many 
persistent  efforts  were  made  to  stamp  out  the  crime  of 
intoxication. 

"  Numerous  societies  were  organized  and  good  men  and 
women  entered  heartily  into  the  work.  Every  argument 
was  used  to  show  the  danger  of  the  drink  habit  and  to 
teach  the  beauty  and  value  of  sobriety,  appeal  being  made 
both  to  the  reason  and  the  conscience.  The  power  of  the 
state  was  invoked  and  punishment  administered  to  the 
drunkards,  while  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicants 
were  restricted  and  sometimes  prohibited.  We  see  how 
firm  a  hold  this  evil  had  on  all  classes  when  we  read  that 
\ery  often  public  sentiment  would  not  permit  these  benef- 
icent laws  to  be  enforced.  In  all  great  reforms  the  apathy 
of  a  large  part  of  the  people  has  been  a  most  discouraging 
feature. 

"  Of  course  it  was  never  intrinsically  wrong  to  drink  a 
glass  of  wine,  but  in  view  of  the  enormous  amount  of  sorrow 
and  trouble  caused  by  overdrinking,  can  it  be  wondered  at 
that  many  earnest  souls  came  to  abhor  everything  in  the 
nature  of  intoxicating  drink,  and  to  practice  and  insist  on 
total  abstinence?  Oh,  I  can  tell  you  if  I  lived  on  the 
earth  now  I  should  be  a  radical  of  the  radicals  on  this 
subject." 


WINE-DRIXKING    IX    MARS.  2^5 

"  Notwithstanding  which,"  said  I,  '•  here  you  are  sitting 
at  your  own  table  and  pouring  into  our  glasses  this  delicious 
wine." 

As  a  smile  passed  around  at  this  remark  it  was  Zenith 
who  said : 

"  Do  you  see  anything  incongruous  in  that?" 

I  paused  a  moment  to  choose  a  reply,  when  tne  doctor 
spoke  up  with   : 

"  Far  be  it  from  us.  Zenith,  with  our  earth-bom  ideas,  to 
even  seem  to  pass  judgment  in  this  happv  place,  but  I  pre- 
sume my  companion  was  tn-ing  to  imagine  what  our  temper- 
ance friends,  who  do  not  know  you,  would  say." 

"  As  for  us,"  said  Thorwald,  '*'  I  trust  we  shall  be  justi- 
fied in  your  eyes  at  least,  before  we  are  through,  but  let  us 
inquire  about  those  whom  you  call  your  temperance  friends. 
I  suppose  they  would  have  a  poor  opinion  of  a  man  who  was 
loud  in  his  public  advocacy  of  temperance  and  yet  drank 
wine  at  home." 

'■  I  think,"  I  replied,  "  that  I  have  heard  some  such 
term  as    '  hypocrite  '  applied  to  men  of  that  class." 

"  And  yet,"  continued  Thom-ald,  '•'  they  would  think  it 
perfectly  proper  for  a  man  to  keep  razors  away  from  his 
children,  but  at  the  same  time  have  one  or  more  concealed 
about  the  house  somewhere  for  his  own  use.  It  might  very 
easily  be  argued  that  razors  were  dangerous  things  under  any 
conditions  :  the  children  might  find  them  by  accident  and 
do  great  harm  to  themselves  or  others  ;  the  man  himself, 
though  accustomed  to  their  moderate  use,  might,  in  a  moment 
of  overconfidence,  go  too  far  and  inflict  a  serious  injurv-  on 
himself  or  even  a  fatal  one ;  and,  further,  it  might  be  said 
that  razors  are  of  no  real  use  to  men,  for  natiu-e  knows  best 
what  is  needed  for  protection,  and  if  hair  on  the  face  was 
not  necessan-  for  the  well-being  of  man  it  would  not  ctow 


286  DAYBREAK. 

there.  This  argument  could  be  pushed  until,  under  an 
awakened  public  sentiment,  the  manufacture  and  sale  of 
razors  might  be  prohibited. 

"  I  have  said  this  to  introduce  a  plea  for  tolerance 
of  opinion.  You  were  created,  I  have  no  doubt,  as  we 
were,  with  different  temperaments  and  inclinations,  which, 
with  various  kinds  of  education,  produce  different  opinions. 
You  cannot  all  have  the  same  mind  on  any  given  subject, 
nor  all  approve  of  the  same  methods  of  reform,  but  you 
will  make  but  little  progress  in  true  temperance  until  you 
can  bury  minor  differences  and  all  work  together.  You 
must  learn  that  everything  that  has  been  made,  whether 
produced  by  the  direct  hand  of  God  or  through  the  agency 
of  man,  has  its  proper  use.  Do  you  say  that  some  people 
would  express  the  wish  that  everything  intoxicating  could 
be  destroyed  from  the  earth,  as  having  no  proper  use?  All 
the  evil  in  it  will  surely  be  removed,  but  the  good  will 
remain.  At  present  it  is  one  of  the  stubborn  obstructions 
in  your  thorny  path.  If  your  way  were  to  be  suddenly  made 
smooth  and  easy  your  race  would  never  learn  self-denial, 
the  only  road  that  leads  to  a  higher  state.  Your  present 
imperfect  life  is  a  daily  conflict,  and  it  is  only  by  battles 
won  and  temptations  overcome  that  you  will  ever  be  built 
uj)  into  virtuous  and  (iod-like  characters. 

"  I  said  you  must  be  tolerant.  I  can  conceive  that  a  man 
might  feel  perfectly  safe  in  the  use  of  wine  and  have  no 
scruples  of  any  kind  against  it,  and  yet  be  sincere  in  urging 
people  in  general  to  totally  abstain  from  it  on  account  of 
the  harm  some  might  receive.  This  man  must  not  be 
denied  a  place  in  the  temperance  ranks.  Another  might 
think  it  a  sin  to  touch  a  drop.  One  might  believe  the  only 
right  way  to  deal  with  the  subject  would  be  to  prohibit  the 
sale  entirely,  another  would  think  more  might  be  done  by 


WINE-DRINKING    IN    MARS.  287 

some  Other  method  of  restriction.  All  that  I  have  read  of 
our  experiences  goes  to  prove  that  the  people  of  the  earth 
will  never  drive  out  this  evil  till  all  shades  of  temperance 
people  get  Christianity  enough  into  their  hearts  to  unite  on  a 
broad  platform  and  work  as  one  army  wi  th  a  single  purpose. ' ' 

"  Will  you  not  tell  us,"  I  asked,  "  how  the  reform  was 
finally  effected  on  Mars?  " 

"Like  all  other  true  reforms,"  replied  Thorwald,  "it 
came  about  through  the  sanctified  commonsense  of  the 
church  of  God,  not  suddenly  by  any  means,  but  gradually 
and  only  after  many  years  of  severe  struggle.  A  combined 
effort  of  all  good  people,  especfally  women,  working  with 
spiritual  as  well  as  moral  weapons,  produced  an  impression 
which  was  lasting.  When  men  were  taught  from  their 
childhood  the  dangers  which  accompany  the  drinking 
habit;  when  one  class  of  people  denied  themselves  all 
indulgence  for  the  sake  of  the  class  who  were  weak ;  when 
drinking  became  a  disgrace,  and  those  who  could  not  keep 
sober  were  taken  in  charge  by  the  state  and  permanently 
separated  from  the  rest  of  the  community ;  when  the 
church  awoke  to  its  full  duty  and  the  rich  poured  out  their 
money ;  when  men  and  women  forgot  fashion  and  pride  and 
caste  in  their  love  for  the  practical  work  of  Christianity  ; 
when  the  power  of  the  gospel  had  strengthened  men's  will 
and  had  begun  to  plant  in  every  heart  a  love  for  something 
purer  than  fleshly  appetite  ;  when  the  spiritual  part  of  our 
nature  began  to  gain  the  ascendency  and  to  occupy  the 
place  for  which  it  was  made  ;  then  intemperance  loosed  its 
hold  and  soon  disappeared,  never  to  trouble  us  again. 

"  You  see  it  was  a  long  road  with  us  and  I  have  no  doubt 
it  will  prove  so  on  the  earth,  but  do  not  on  that  account 
lose  courage.  And  let  me  counsel  both  of  you  to  join  the 
ranks  of  the  reformers  when  you  get  home. 


288  DAYBREAK. 

"  Although  intemperate  drinking  has  long  been  unknown 
among  us,  as  well  as  all  other  gross  imperfections  of  char- 
acter, we  still  make  good  wine,  and  no  more  danger  is  felt 
in  drinking  it  than  in  using  milk.  Everybody  can  have  all 
he  wants  of  it.  Our  tables  may  be  supplied  with  the  luxuries 
of  every  clime,  but  we  have  learned  that  it  is  best  for  us  to 
be  temperate  in  both  eating  and  drinking.  I  am  sorry 
your  temperance  friends,  as  you  say,  would  not  approve  of 
us,  but  when  you  see  them  I  trust  you  will  do  what  you  can 
to  let  them  understand  that  such  temptations  as  this  of 
which  we  have  been  speaking  belong  to  the  childhood  of 
a  race,  and  that  the  people  of  Mars  have  long  since  passed 
out  of  infancy." 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 


A    GENUINE    ACCIDENT. 


IMoNA  did  not  feel  obliged  to  be  present  at  our  conversa- 
tions after  she  had  explained  her  position  to  us,  but  I  saw 
her  many  times  every  day.  I  tried  to  respect  her  feeling 
and  avoid  the  subject  which  still  occupied  so  many  of  my 
thoughts.  I  fought  against  my  passion,  which  I  told  myself 
was  unmanly,  since  it  was  not  returned  in  the  good,  old- 
fashioned  way.  What  man  of  spirit  would^  submit  to  the 
enchantment  of  one  who,  while  professing  she  loved  him 
with  her  whole  heart,  declared  in  the  same  breath  that  she 
also  loved  equally  well  half  a  dozen  others?  I  tried  to  make 
up  my  mind  to  shake  off  the  spell  and  be  free.  To  this  end 
I  endeavored  to  examine  my  heart  with  the  purpose  of 
discovering  if  possible  the  secret  of  Mona's  power  over  me. 

I  was  sure  I  could  not  be  weak  enough  to  be  held  so  firmly 
by  her  beauty  alone,  lovely  as  she  was.  Her  mental  equip- 
ment did  not  seem  to  furnish  the  ground  for  such  a  deep 
attachment,  and  I  could  not  believe  that  I  was  good  enough 
to  be  so  powerfully  drawn  to  her  by  the  inimitable  charac- 
ter of  her  spiritual  nature.  What,  then,  was  the  attraction? 
It  was  not  far  to  seek.  What  was  it  that  first  moved  me, 
before  I  had  ever  seen  her?  What  accomplishment  was  it 
that  always  came  to  my  mind  first  when  I  thought  of  her? 
In  short,  what  would  Mona,  silent,  be?  I  couM  hardly 
imagine.  But  then,  she  was  not  silent,  and  I  knew  well 
19 


290 


DAYBREAK. 


enough  that,  straggle  as  I  night,  I  never  could  successfully 
resist  the  subtle  charm  of  that  voice. 

So,  as  I  saw  no  escape  for  me,  I  next  began  to  study  how 
I  could  infuse  into  Mona's  love  for  me  something  more  of  the 
personal  element.  How  could  I  teach  her  to  love  me  just 
a  little  for  myself  alone?  Evidently  she  had  been  educated 
in  an  atmosphere  of  the  most  uncompromising  monotony. 
Where  everybody  loved  ever^-body  what  chance  could  there 
be  for  lovers  ?  I  wondered  what  would  move  Mona.  Some 
heroic  action  which  should  appeal  to  her  sympathies  would 
probably  do  it.  She  had  been  pleased  with  the  part  I  had 
taken  in  discovering  her  retreat  in  the  moon,  and  perhaps 
something  else  in  that  line  would  help  me.  But  what  was 
there  one  could  possibly  do  in  Mars  which  could  be  called 
heroic?  I  should  have  to  ask  Thorwald  if  he  could  think 
of  anything  I  could  do  to  arouse  the  imagination  of  Mona 
and  bring  her  a  little  closer  to  me. 

Not  long  after  I  had  been  indulging  in  these  conflicting 
thoughts  I  had  a  more  promising  opportunity  than  I  had 
hoped  for  of  showing  Mona  that  I  could  do  something 
besides  make  love  to  her. 

One  morning  she  came  to  me  and  said  she  would  like 
to  go  out  for  a  long  ride.  As  I  never  lost  an  opportunity  of 
being  alone  with  her  I  eagerly  accepted  this  one  and  hurried 
off  with  her,  lest  any  other  member  of  the  household  should 
appear  and  propose  to  accompany  us.  Mona  was  as  agree- 
able as  ever,  and  chirruped  away  in  her  musical  style  as  we 
walked  down  the  hill  in  search  of  just  the  right  carriage. 
We  soon  found  one  which  pleased  us,  and  as  I  was  by  this 
time  perfectly  at  home  in  the  management  of  these  vehicles, 
we  started  off  at  a  brisk  pace  along  a  road  which  took  us 
through  a  charming  section  of  the  country.  It  made  me 
happy  to  reflect  that  this  pleasant  ride  was  at  Mona's  sug- 


A    GENUINE    ACCIDENT.  291 

gestion.  Although  she  had  peculiar  views  about  my  manner 
of  wooing,  she  did  not  shun  my  company,  and  I  could  not 
refuse  to  believe  she  really  loved  me  as  she  said.  I  turned 
on  more  power,  and  as  our  speed  became  exhilarating  I 
said  to  my  companion  : 

''  Mona,  they  will  think  we  have  eloped." 

"  Excuse  me,"  came  out  in  sweet  notes,  "  you  will  have 
to  explain." 

"  Dear  me,  were  your  people  so  very  proper  that  you 
don't  even  know  the  meaning  of  that  word?  Didn't  they 
ever  do  anything  wrong?  " 

''  Oh,  is  it  wrong  to  elope?  " 

"  That  depends  entirely  on  the  point  of  view.  But  I 
cannot  explain  further  without  bringing  up  the  subject 
which  you  have  forbidden  me  to  speak  about." 

"  What  subject  is  that?  I  have  forgotten  that  I  have  ever 
put  you  under  such  a  prohibition." 

"  Why,  the  subject  that  is  always  nearest  my  heart  and 
nearest  my  lips,  the  subject  of  my  great  love  for  you,  dear 
Mona,  so  different  from  my  regard  for  any  other  person." 

"  Oh,  I  remember  now,  but  I  assure  you  I  had  forgotten 
all  about  it."  And  here  her  voice  suddenly  lost  much  of 
its  tenderness  and  assumed  a  character  which  she  rarely 
employed,  as  she  continued,  "  But  let  us  not  discuss  that 
topic  again.  I  already  know  all  you  have  to  say  on  it,  and 
why  should  we  waste  our  time  with  such  useless  talk  when 
there  are  so  many  more  valuable  things  to  occupy  our 
attention?  " 

''  Forgive  me,"  I  exclaimed.  "  If  you  will  promise  me 
not  to  sing  in  that  tone  again  I  will  talk  about  anything 
you  wish." 

"  I  agree,"  she  responded,  and  never  did  her  accents 
sound  sweeter. 


292  DAYBREAK. 

Somehow  I  was  not  so  much  affected  by  Mona's  coldness 
this  time  as  before,  and  I  was  able  to  recover  my  cheerful- 
ness at  once.  I  then  determined  to  give  her  no  occasion 
for  another  rebuff  if  I  could  help  it,  but  to  do  all  in  my 
power  to  entertain  her  with  what  she  called  sensible  con- 
versation. There  were  many  things  connected  with  society 
on  the  earth  in  which  she  took  a  lively  interest,  and  I  made 
a  great  effort  to  talk  myself  into  her  favor,  so  that  she  would 
not  say  again  that  she  preferred  the  doctor's  company  to 
mine. 

We  had  been  riding  a  couple  of  hours  or  more,  generally 
at  a  swift  pace,  when,  from  a  high  point  in  the  road,  we 
saw  we  were  approaching  the  shore  of  the  sea  or  a  large 
lake. 

Mona  was  so  delighted  with  the  view  that  I  said  : 

"  If  we  can  find  any  kind  of  a  boat  on  the  shore  we  will 
have  a  ride  on  the  water." 

"  Can  you  manage  a  boat?  "   she  asked. 

"  Oh,  yes,  if  it  is  not  too  large." 

"  But  it  may  be  some  new  kind,  something  you  are  not 
acquainted  with." 

"  Then  I  shall  have  to  study  it  out.  But  you  are  not 
afraid  to  go  on  the  water  with  me,  are  you?  " 

"  If  there  is  anything  in  this  pleasant  world  to  give  me 
fear  it  is  water  in  such  mass  as  that,"  she  rei)liecl,  stretch- 
ing out  her  hand  toward  the  sea. 

"  15ut  I  thought  you  were  afraid  of  nothing,"  said  I. 

"  You  have  taught  me  the  word,"  she  responded,  "  and  I 
hardly  know  its  meaning  yet,  but  I  must  acknowledge  that 
I  shrink  from  the  ocean.  Its  vastness,  so  much  water,  over- 
whelms me.  You  know  it  is  many,  many  years  since  the 
moon  had  any  large  bodies  of  water." 

"  So  it  is,"  I  exclaimed,   "  and  everything  will  be  new 


A    GENUINE    ACCIDENT.  293 

to  you.  What  sport  we  shall  have,  and  I  shall  make  it  my 
business  to  see  that  the  water  does  not  harm  you." 

We  hurried  down  to  the  shore  and  found  the  prettiest  little 
boat  I  had  ever  seen  all  ready  for  us,  as  if  we  had  ordered 
it  for  the  occasion.  It  was  evidently  intended  for  children, 
but  was  fitted  with  both  sails  and  oars,  and  also,  I  was  glad 
to  find,  with  a  little  screw  and  an  electric  apparatus  to 
turn  it.  I  was  overjoyed  with  our  good  fortune,  and  pre- 
pared at  once  to  embark.  But  Mona  plainly  hesitated. 
She  kept  up  her  musical  chatter  and  tried  to  be  as  cheerful  as 
ever,  but  I  saw  she  was  not  as  eager  for  the  trip  as  I  was. 
I  did  not  let  her  see  that  I  noticed  her  manner,  however, 
and  went  on  with  my  preparations.  When  I  had  brought 
the  boat  around  so  that  she  could  step  into  it  conveniently, 
she  looked  in  my  face,  and  asked  in  a  voice  which  trembled 
with  excitement : 

"  Are  you  sure  you  understand  how  to  manage  it?  It  is 
all  so  strange  to  me." 

She  wanted  to  decline  to  make  the  venture,  I  thought, 
but  her  courage  was  too  great.  Now  was  the  time  when  I 
proved  myself  still  a  son  of  the  earth,  with  fallible  judg- 
ment and  a  will  too  much  engrossed  with  self.  I  had  been 
wishing  for  an  opportunity  to  do  some  ditificult  thing  for 
Mona,  something  noble  which  should  win  her  affection, 
and  here,  when  the  chance  offered,  I  did  not  recognize  it. 
The  truly  heroic  action  would  have  been  to  respect  Mona's 
feeling  and  give  up  the  idea  entirely,  for  I  knew  she  had  a 
strong  aversion  to  trusting  herself  on  the  water.  But  it 
was  really  my  own  pleasure  and  not  hers  that  I  was  seeking, 
for  in  answer  to  her  question  I  said  hurriedly : 

*'  Why,  certainly.  It  is  as  easy  to  control  as  the  carriage 
we  have  just  left.  We'll  not  put  up  the  sails  if  you  say  so, 
and  I  promise  to  bring  you  back  all  safe  and  sound  in  a 


294 


DAYBREAK. 


short  time.  I  am  sure  you  will  enjoy  the  new  experience,  and 
then  I  want  to  hear  how  your  voice  sounds  on  the  water." 

"  Well,  I  will  go,"  she  said,  "  on  your  promise  to  protect 
me  ;  but  I  have  the  queerest  sensation,  I  don't  know  what  to 
call  it.     Do  you  think  it  is  fear?  " 

"  Oh,  no,  it  can't  be  that,  because  there  is  nothing  to 
fear.     Are  you  ready  now?     Let  me  take  your  hand." 

As  she  stepped  in  and  felt  the  motion  she  realized  how 
unstable  the  water  really  was,  and  sank  down  at  my  feet, 
emitting  an  involuntary  note  of  not  very  joyful  quality. 
But  she  showed  great  bravery  and,  as  I  helped  her  to  a 
seat,  she  said  she  would  no  doubt  enjoy  it  after  a  while.  I 
now  shoved  the  boat  out  and  used  the  oars  a  few  minutes, 
but  soon  tiring  of  that  exercise,  I  looked  into  the  opefation 
of  the  electric  motor  and  found  it  quite  simple.  Turning 
on  the  power,  the  screw  worked  to  perfection  and  sent  the 
boat  through  the  water  in  good  shape. 

Mona  was  now  recovering  her  spirits,  seeing  that  no  harm 
came  to  her,  and  at  my  request  she  sang  some  of  her  native 
songs.  This  was  delightful,  and  I  resigned  myself  to  the 
full  enjoyment  of  the  occasion.  It  seemed  to  mc  that  the 
excitement  she  had  just  passed  through  added  a  new  and 
pleasing  quality  to  her  voice,  if  that  were  possible.  As  I 
sat  listening  and  musing,  my  memory  carried  me  back  to 
the  first  time  I  had  heard  this  marvelous  singer,  and  I 
could  not  help  contrasting  the  two  situations.  1  felici- 
tated myself  on  my  present  happiness,  for  when  Mona  was 
singing  I  wanted  nothing  more.  I  seemed  to  forget  then 
that  she  would  not  listen  to  my  tale  of  love,  or  if  I  thought 
of  it  I  attached  no  consequence  to  it.  The  voice  seemed 
to  be  a  thing  by  itself,  and  a  thing  which  in  some  way 
appeared  to  belong  wholly  to  me,  w^hether  Mona  was  mine 
or  not. 


A    GENUINE    ACCIDENT.  295 

She  stopped  singing  after  a  while  and  asked  if  we  had 
better  not  start  for  home.     To  which  I  replied  : 

"  I  turned  the  boat  around  some  time  ago,  and  we  are 
now  headed  directly  for  the  place  where  we  found  it." 

When  she  expressed  surprise  at  this  I  steered  about  in 
various  directions  to  show  her  how  easily  it  was  done,  and 
then  some  mischievous  spirit,  which  I  myself  must  have 
imported  into  Mars,  put  it  into  my  head  to  try  and  see  how 
fast  our  little  vessel  could  go.  My  idea  was  partly  to  satisfy 
my  own  curiosity  and  partly  to  treat  Mona  to  as  great  a 
variety  of  sensations  as  possible.  The  electric  apparatus 
was  extremely  sensitive,  and  a  slight  movement  of  the  lever 
made  an  instant  increase  in  our  speed.  A  little  more,  and 
we  began  to  go  through  the  water  at  quite  a  handsome  rate. 
I  enjoyed  it  immensely,  and  if  Mona  did  not  like  it  she 
had  pluck  enough  not  to  make  it  known.  This  emboldened 
me  to  put  on  still  more  power,  which  sent  the  boat  plough- 
ing along  at  such  a  velocity  that  the  spray  flew  all  about  us 
and  the  boat  shook  so  that  we  kept  our  seats  with  difficulty. 
Not  knowing  what  I  might  be  led  to  do  next,  and  being  in 
reality  terribly  frightened,  if  she  had  only  known  what  the 
feeling  was,  Mona  now  mildly  expostulated  with  : 

"  Isn't  this  a  little  too  fast?     Something  might  happen." 

"  Don't  be  afraid,"  I  replied.  "  I'll  take  care  of  you. 
The  doctor  must  have  taught  you  that  last  word,  as  it  is  not 
used  here.  You  know  nothing  ever  happens  in  Mars. 
Everything  goes  along  in  the  even  tenor  of  its  way,  moved 
by  laws  which  are  fixed  and  certain.  This  boat,  you  see,  is 
strong  and  well  able  to  bear  the  strain.  The  water  is 
smooth'  and  contains  no  hidden  rocks,  and  it  is  perfectly 
easy  to  steer  clear  of  the  shore,  which  you  see  is  some  dis- 
tance ofif  yet.  But  now  that  I  have  given  you  this  little 
excitement,  which  you  will  not  regret  after  it  is  all  over,  I 


296  DAYBREAK, 

will  stop  the  current  which  produces  this  great  force  and 
bring  in  an  artificial  law,  as  it  were,  to  override  the  natural 
law  now  in  operation.  Just  look  at  this  lever  and  see  how 
easily  it  is  done." 

I  seized  the  handle,  intending  to  shut  off  the  power  sud- 
denly, but  by  some  unaccountable  mistake  I  turned  it  the 
wrong  way.  Instantly  I  saw  the  bow  of  the  boat  jump  out 
of  the  water  and  go  over  our  heads,  and  then  Mona  and  I 
realized  that  something  had  actually  happened  on  Mars,  for 
we  were  both  buried  under  the  boat. 

I  was  the  first  to  extricate  myself  and  come  to  the  surface, 
and,  not  seeing  my  companion,  I  thought  she  was  surely 
lost.  I  might  save  her  yet,  though,  and  was  just  about  to 
dive  under  the  boat  again,  when  her  head  appeared  insight, 
only  a  little  way  from  me,  her  eyes  wide  open  and,  really, 
a  smile  on  her  face. 

"  Can  you  swim,  Mona?  "  I  cried,  excitedly. 

She  had  not  the  breath  to  answer  or  else  thought  my 
question  unnecessary.  But  I  soon  found  my  own  answer 
when  I  saw  her  head  sinking  again  just  as  I  had  reached  her. 
I  clutched  her,  and,  as  I  held  her  head  above  the  water,  I 
began  to  understand  that  I  had  something  on  my  hands  to 
fulfill  my  promise  to  take  care  of  her.  At  this  instant  I 
saw  one  of  the  oars  from  the  boat  floating  a  little  way  from 
us  and  managed  to  secure  it,  holding  Mona  with  one  arm 
and  swimming  with  the  other.  I  now  helped  my  compan- 
ion to  half  support  herself  by  grasping  the  oar,  while  for 
the  rest  she  was  induced  to  throw  an  arm  over  my  shoulder. 
In  this  way  I  was  left  free  to  make  what  progress  I  could 
through  the  water,  and  I  lost  no  time  in  swimming  toward 
the  shore,  since  there  was  no  hope  of  our  being  able  to 
make  use  of  the  boat,  which  now  lay,  bottom  up,  on  the 
surface. 


A    GENUINE    ACCIDENT.  297 

All  this  was  done  without  a  word  from  Mona,  although 
I  had  been  talking  to  her  freely,  giving  her  directions  and 
assuring  her  of  my  ability  to  save  her.  As  this  was  her  first 
experience  in  drowning,  she  had  evidently  been  trying  to 
sing  under  the  water  and  had  found  it  so  difficult  that  she 
had  determined  to  keep  her  lips  closed  till  she  was  well 
out  of  it.  With  this  thought  in  my  mind  I  said  to  her  as 
soon  as  we  were  under  way  : 

"  Your  head  is  so  far  above  water  now  that  you  can  open 
your  mouth  with  perfect  safety.  You  see  I  can  talk,  and 
my  head  is  much  lower  than  yours." 

She  was  so  situated  that  I  could  not  see  her  face  easily, 
and  therefore  I  do  not  know  whether  she  ventured  to  unstop 
her  lips  or  not,  but  no  sound  came  from  them  if  she  did. 
Perhaps  the  water  still  filled  her  ears  and  made  her  deaf. 
So  I  called  aloud  : 

"  Can  you  hear  me,  Mona?  " 

No  answer  in  words,  but  I  imagined  I  felt  a  slight  pres- 
sure of  her  hand  on  my  shoulder.  I  toiled  on,  musing  over 
her  strange  behavior,  till  it  occurred  to  me  to  try  a  subject 
which  had  never  failed  to  bring  a  response  from  her. 

"  I  hope  this  will  make  you  more  affectionate  to  me,  dear 
Mona,"  I  said;  and  then,  as  she  made  no  answer,  I  con- 
tinued : 

"  If  we  reach  the  shore  alive  and  get  home  safe  you  will 
love  me  more  than  you  do  Foedric,  will  you  not?  " 

I  thought  this  would  bring  an  answer,  and  I  was  not  dis- 
appointed, except  in  the  manner  in  which  it  came.  Not 
the  faintest  note  escaped  from  her  lips,  but  a  throb  of  feel- 
ing came  along  her  arm,  and  her  hand  grasped  my  shoulder 
with  unmistakable  vigor.  I  suppose  she  thought  I  would 
understand  what  this  answer  meant,  but  I  was  puzzled.  It 
might  mean  so  many  things.     Perhaps  her  heart  was  soft- 


298  DAYBREAK. 

ening  toward  me  and  she  was  so  much  affected  by  her  love 
for  me,  stronger  and  deeper  than  she  had  ever  thought  it 
could  be,  that  she  dared  not  speak.  With  this  possibility 
in  view  I  began  to  feel  very  tender  toward  her  and  to  ex- 
perience the  pleasure  of  one  whose  love  is  returned  in  full 
measure. 

But  then  her  answer  might  have  quite  a  different  mean- 
ing. What  if  she  were  telling  me  that  she  had  determined 
never  to  speak  another  word  on  that  subject,  and  that  my 
question  was  an  offense  to  her?  Surely  she  had  told  me 
often  enough  to  talk  about  more  sensible  things,  and  per- 
haps this  was  only  a  new  and  forcible  way  of  repeating 
the  same  injunction.  I  reflected,  too,  that  it  was  hardly 
fair  to  take  advantage  of  the  present  situation  to  force  upon 
her  a  prohibited  topic  of  conversation. 

There  was  another  possible  meaning  to  her  manner  of 
answering  me.  Perhaps  she  was  indignant  because  I  had 
insisted  on  her  getting  into  the  boat  with  me  against  her 
wish,  and  held  me  strictly  responsible  for  all  that  followed. 
With  this  view  in  mind  I  imagined  she  was  saying  to  her- 
self : 

"  I  want  nothing  to  say  to  you.  I  accept  your  assistance 
because  I  cannot  get  to  shore  without  you,  but  when  once 
out  of  this  dreadful  water  I  shall  have  nothing  more  to  do 
with  you." 

To  place  against  the  latter  theory  I  had  the  fact  that 
Mona's  face  had  beamed  with  pleasure  all  the  time  I  was 
getting  her  fixed  so  I  could  swim  freely.  Dwelling  upon 
this  memory  my  mind  returned  to  thoughts  of  love,  and 
I  felt  that  I  must  try  once  more  to  start  that  familiar  song. 
So  I  said  : 

"  Forgive  me,  Mona,  if  I  have  offended  you,  and  let  me 
hear  your  voice  again.     You  are  too  good  to  punish  me  so 


A    GENUINE    ACCIDENT.  299 

severely  for  my  fault  in  getting  you  into  this  trouble.  Will 
you  not  cheer  me  with  a  few  notes  while  I  bear  you  safely 
to  the  shore?  " 

Again  a  pressure  of  the  hand  but  no  expression  from  the 
lips,  and  I  was  left  to  further  conjecture  over  the  strange 
mood  my  companion  was  in.  I  swam  leisurely,  so  as  not  to 
exhaust  my  strength,  and  as  there  was  a  considerable  dis- 
tance to  go  I  had  plenty  of  time  to  think  after  I  had  found 
it  impossible  to  induce  Mona  to  enter  into  conversation. 
Although  so  near,  my  companion  seemed  far  away,  and  I 
became  extremely  lonesome.  In  trying  to  determine  what 
had  occasioned  such  a  mishap  in  a  world  where  I  had  been 
taught  to  believe  such  things  entirely  out  of  date,  I  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  the  Martians  owe  their  freedom  from 
many  misfortunes  to  their  ripened  characters,  rather  than 
to  anything  peculiar  in  their  physical  laws.  With  my 
imperfect  development  I  had  made  an  error  in  judgment  in 
taking  Mona  upon  the  water,  and  with  my  untrained  mind 
I  had  simply  made  a  mistake  when  I  turned  the  lever  of 
the  electric  apparatus  the  wrong  way.  The  Martians  had 
reached  such  high  attainments  in  every  direction  that  it 
was  practically  impossible  for  them  to  make  mistakes. 
Thus  had  they  freed  themselves  from  many  of  the  vexations 
which  harass  the  people  of  a  younger  world. 

I  was  fortunately  able  to  endure  the  strain  of  the  great 
task  which  I  had  undertaken,  and  finally  succeeded  in 
bringing  my  precious  burden  to  land  and  helping  her  to  a 
place  of  safety.  We  were  both  pretty  well  fatigued  with 
our  exertions,  but  felt  no  danger  from  our  wet  clothes,  be- 
cause of  the  mild  and  balmy  air. 

Mona's  behavior  still  perplexed  me.  Her  manner  was 
delightfully  pleasant  and  familiar.  Now  that  we  were  safe 
she  appeared  to  appreciate  the  humorous  part  of  the  situa- 


300  DAYBREAK. 

tion,  and  I  was  loath  to  believe  that  she  could  or  would 
affect  such  good  nature  if  she  were  harboring  unpleasant 
feelings  toward  me.  But  I  could  not  account  for  her  con- 
tinued silence,  for  as  yet  no  word  nor  sound  of  any  kind  had 
come  from  her  lips.  Her  face  and  hands,  however,  were 
continually  in  motion,  and  after  I  had  overcome  my  usual 
stupidity  I  discovered  that  she  was  actually  making  signs. 

"  Why,  Mona,"  I  exclaimed,  "  can't  you  speak?" 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  Nor  sing,  I  mean?  " 

Another  shake. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  you  have  lost  your  voice?  " 

A  nod. 

For  a  moment  a  shadow  settled  upon  her  face,  occasioned, 
no  doubt,  by  my  falling  countenance,  fori  must  have  shown 
something  of  the  great  shock  to  my  feelings.  Mona  with- 
out the  voice  of  Mona  !  I  could  not  at  once  realize  the 
depth  of  my  loss.  And  now  it  was  her  turn  to  attempt  to 
restore  my  spirits,  as  we  fell  back  to  our  original  mode  of 
conversing.  I  urged  her  to  make  an  effort  to  sing,  and  she 
told  me  she  had  tried  many  times,  and  that  it  had  grieved 
her  to  be  so  unsocial  while  I  was  toiling  so  hard  to  save  her 
life. 

"  Why,  my  dear,"  I  answered,  "  I  thought  you  were  angry 
with  me  for  speaking  to  you  again  about  my  love." 

Her  reply  was  a  look  so  full  of  tenderness  that  I  was 
almost  sure  that,  if  she  had  had  her  voice,  she  would  have 
used  it  more  kindly  than  before.  Still  it  may  have  been 
only  compassion. 

By  this  time  we  had  found  our  carriage  and  were  on  our 
way  home,  and  I  am  sure  that  if,  on  our  arrival,  our  friends 
had  judged  from  our  looks,  they  would  have  supposed  I, 
and  not  Mona,  had  experienced  a  great  misfortune. 


A    GENUINE    ACCIDENT.  30I 

Avis  had  returned  to  her  distant  home  several  days  before 
this,  but  Antonia  and  Foedric  were  at  Thorwald's  when  we 
arrived,  and  I  had  the  unpleasant  task  of  relating  to  the 
whole  household  our  sad  experience.  I  did  not  spare  my- 
self, although  they  were  all  kind  enough  to  offer  every 
manner  of  excuse  for  me.  Everybody  showed  sympathy 
with  Mona  in  all  possible  ways,  but  she  herself  still  exhib- 
ited the  same  sunny  disposition  as  ever,  although  the  house 
seemed  quiet  without  her  bright  and  happy  song. 


CHAPTER   XXXIII. 

THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN. 

Family  life  in  this  model  home  went  forward  without  a 
jar.  Thorwald  and  Zenith  exhibited  not  the  least  sign  of 
restraint  before  us,  so  that  what  we  saw  from  day  to  day  we 
were  sure  was  their  natural  and  usual  behavior.  They 
never  worked  at  cross  purposes,  were  never  impatient  nor 
forgetful  of  each  other,  but  without  effort,  apparently,  to 
avoid  friction,  they  always  did  what  was  best  pleasing  to 
themselves,  and  at  the  same  time  what  was  just  suited  to 
each  other.  This  happy  state  of  affairs  did  not  come  from 
a  division  of  labor,  by  which  Zenith  should  have  nothing  to 
do  with  outside  matters  and  Thonvald  nothing  to  say  about 
how  things  should  go  in  the  house,  but  it  seemed  to  proceed 
from  their  innate  love  of  harmony,  their  perfect  compatibil- 
ity, and  their  practical  equality.  The  doctor  and  I  saw 
there  was  something  here  far  different  from  anything  exist- 
ing in  the  conjugal  relation  on  the  earth,  but  we  could  not 
decide  just  what  it  was.  The  doctor  was  strongly  of  the 
opinion,  however,  that  it  arose  in  some  way  from  the  higher 
condition  of  woman. 

"  You  know,"  he  said,  when  we  were  alone,  "  the  civili- 
zation of  a  people  on  our  planet  is  pretty  correctly  measured 
by  the  position  occupied  by  the  women,  so  that  here,  in  this 
exalted  society,  they  must  be  held  in  high  esteem,  if  there 
is  the  same  analogy  between  the  two  worlds  in  this  as  in  so 
manv  other  things." 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN.  303 

I  quite  agreed  with  him,  and  took  the  first  opportunity 
when  we  were  all  together  to  introduce  the  subject. 

"  I  should  like  to  direct  the  conversation,"  I  said,  ad- 
dressing our  host  and  hostess,  "  to  a  topic  of  considerable 
interest,  just  now,  to  the  people  of  the  earth.  I  am  sure 
we  can  learn  something  of  value  in  regard  to  it  from  you, 
and  I  will  introduce  it,  if  you  will  pardon  my  impertinence, 
with  a  personal  question.  Will  you  please  tell  me  who  is 
the  head  of  this  household? 

"Zenith." 

"  Thorwald." 

Two  answers  in  one  breath. 

"  It  is  very  polite  of  you,"  I  said,  "  to  disclaim  the 
honor  and  each  one  give  it  to  the  other,  but,  seriously,  is 
there  no  head?  " 

"  \Miy,  no,"  answered  Thorwald;  "we  never  think  of 
such  a  thing,  and  yet  you  must  admit  that  things  run  smoothly 
without  it." 

"  I  will  then  try  again,  if  you  please,"  I  said.  "  Which 
of  you  is  the  bread-winner?  " 

To  which  Zenith  replied  : 

"  That  question  is  hardly  appropriate,  for  you  know  we 
do  not  work  for  our  daily  bread.  The  bread  would 
come  anyway,  whether  we  worked  or  not ;  but  then,  as  a 
matter  of  fact,  every  one  does  work  at  some  useful  occupa- 
tion, because  we  have  found  out  by  long  experience  that  it 
is  much  better  for  us  than  idleness.  If  you  reply  that  you 
have  not  seen  us  work  while  you  have  been  here,  I  will  say 
that  our  time  is  considered  to  be  well  employed  if  we  can 
be  learning  anything  or  imparting  knowledge  to  others,  as 
this  is  supposed  to  add  indirectly  to  the  general  well-being 
of  society.  But  perhaps  what  you  want  to  know  is  which  of 
us  does  the  more  to  benefit   the  world,  and  even  this  would 


304  DAYBREAK. 

be  a  difficult  question  to  answer.  Thorwald  creates,  we  will 
say,  an  elaborate  design  for  a  noble  cathedral,  and  as  he 
watches  its  fair  proportions  rise  under  the  hands  of  skilled 
men,  who  take  an  equal  pride  and  satisfaction  in  their  work, 
his  heart  is  made  glad  by  the  thought  that  for  many  years 
after  he  has  left  the  body  the  structure  will  be  used  as  a 
place  for  teaching  the  way  of  life,  with  its  graceful  spires 
pointing  men  to  heaven.     While  I,  perhaps " 

"  Let  me  tell  that  part,"  interrupted  Thorwald.  "  While 
Zenith,  with  just  as  strong  a  feeling  of  responsibility  for  a 
share  of  the  world's  work,  composes  a  beautiful  song  and 
writes  the  music  for  it,  and  then  sings  it  before  a  vast  audi- 
ence, while  the  phonograph  catches  it  and  holds  it  for  future 
generations.  Is  she  not  doing  as  much  as  I  am  toward 
earning  the  bread  for  the  family?  " 

"  It  certainly  cannot  be  denied,"  I  answered.  "  But 
what  I  want  to  find  out  is,  to  use  a  homely  expression  com- 
mon with  us,  which  of  you  two  holds  the  reins  in  this  home?" 

"Well,"  replied  Thorwald,  laughing,  "that  is  a  figure 
of  speech  which  is  not  employed  here,  for  we  use  no  reins 
of  any  kind  ;  but  I  know  what  you  mean,  and  I  will  answer 
you  by  saying  that  we  each  hold  one  rein,  and  in  that  way 
drive  as  steadily  as  if  we  were  one  person." 

"  But  when  disputes  arise,  which  one  gives  in?" 

"  Disputes  never  arise,  and  if  they  did  we  would  both 
*  give  in,'  whatever  that  expression  means." 

"  If  not  your  wills,  do  not  your  wishes  or  inclinations 
sometimes  oppose  each  other?" 

"  Why,  no,"  Thorwald  answered  quickly.  "  It  is  impos- 
sible, and  for  this  reason  :  each  one  of  us  is  so  intent  on 
trying  to  please  the  other  that  we  are  saved  from  all  tempta- 
tion to  selfishness,  which  is  the  root  and  source  of  all 
differences." 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN.  305 

While  I  was  considering  what  next  to  ask,  the  doctor 
broke  in  with  : 

'''  I  think  my  companion  will  be  obliged  to  discontinue 
his  questions  and  accept  the  truth  that  here  we  have  found 
an  ideal  household,  where  husband  and  wife  are  in  reality 
equal.  Let  me  ask  if  the  women,  all  over  this  happy  world, 
are  treated  with  as  much  consideration  as  in  the  case 
before  us." 

"  Why,  what  a  funny  question,"  exclaimed  Zenith, 
before  Thorwald  could  speak.  "  Why  don't  you  ask  if,  all 
over  this  happy  world,  we  treat  our  men  with  consideration 
and  respect  ?  But,  to  save  you  the  trouble  of  asking,  I  will 
say  that,  all  over  this  happy  world,  a  man  is  held  in  as  high 
esteem  and  is  as  tenderly  cared  for  as  a  woman,  every  bit. 
Your  words,  Doctor,  remind  me  that  I  have  several  times 
wanted  to  speak  to  you  about  a  certain  manner  which  you 
and  your  friend  have  exhibited  t-oward  me.  No  one  could 
accuse  you  of  disrespect  to  Thorwald ;  indeed,  I  think  your 
carriage  toward  him  is  excellent,  but  with  me  you  seem  to 
be  a  little  strained,  and  your  manner  is  a  trifle  effusive. 
Pardon  me  for  the  criticism.  I  know  your  action  is  well 
meant,  although  it  is  something  I  am  not  accustomed  to." 

"  I  suppose,"  said  the  doctor,  "  you  refer  to  our  feeble 
and,  it  appears,  stupid  efforts  to  be  polite." 

"  Oh,  then  I  ought  to  feel  complimented  instead  of  find- 
ing fault  with  you.  But  why  should  you  wish  to  be  more 
respectful  to  me  than  to  Thorwald  ?  He  is  more  worthy 
your  regard  than  I  am,  and  has  as  many  rights  in  this 
house  as  I  have,  exactly." 

"  We  have  been  taught  to  pay  an  extra  deference  to 
women,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"Why?"  asked  Zenith.     "Because  they  are  superior 

beings  ?  " 

20 


3o6  DAYBREAK. 

"Hardly  that,  I  think." 

"  Then  it  must  be  because  they  are  considered  inferior, 
and  you  seek  to  hide  your  real  feeling,  which  is  one  of 
commiseration,  by  a  false  show  of  politeness." 

"That  sounds  harsh,"  said  the  doctor,  "and  I  believe 
you  are  not  correct." 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  mean  to  criticise  you  personally,"  Zenith 
made  haste  to  say,  "  but  the  system.  It  seems  to  me  that 
you.  Doctor,  try  to  be  sincere  ;  and  assuming  that  to  be  so, 
let  me  ask  you  why  you  are  more  ceremonious  in  your  man- 
ner to  your  neighbor's  wife  than  to  your  neighbor's  hus- 
band." 

"  Well,  let  me  see.  Why  do  I  instinctively  make  a  special 
show  of  respect  in  meeting  a  woman  ?  I  never  analyzed 
my  feeling,  but  I  will  try  to  do  so  for  you.  I  think  one 
principal  reason  is  because  it  is  so  very  conventional  that 
she  would  expect  it,  and  think  me  either  piqued  or  ill-bred 
if  I  omitted  it.  Then,  deeper  than  that  is  a  desire  to  tell 
her  that  I  recognize  in  her  and  admire  those  graces  and 
amenities  which  are  supposed  to  be  peculiar  to  her  sex. 
And  I  suppose  there  is,  also,  a  little  selfishness  in  it,  as  if 
I  were  asking  her  to  take  note  that  I  knew  what  were  the 
usages  of  good  society." 

"  But  would  you  not  also  tell  her  in  effect  by  your  flat- 
tery, if  you  will  excuse  the  word,  that  she  and  the  rest  of 
her  sex  are  by  birth  not  quite  equal  to  men,  and  you  are 
trying  to  make  up  the  difference  all  you  can  by  politeness  ?  " 

"  I  am  not  conscious  of  such  a  feeling,  I  am  sure," 
answered  the  doctor.  "  It  seems  to  me  that  woman  is 
entitled  to  some  extra  attention  because  she  is  physically 
weaker  than  man." 

"True,"  said  Zenith;  "that  is  a  good  reason  why  she 
should  be  protected." 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN.  307 

"  And  should  we  not  maintain  and  practice  toward  her 
the  spirit  of  true  courtesy  ?  " 

"  Most  certainly.  But  women  should  also  exercise  the 
same  spirit  toward  men.  The  duty  is  reciprocal.  The  days 
of  knight-errantry,  when  men  were  chivalrous  and  women 
were  merely  beautiful,  should  not  last  forever;  women, 
too,  should  learn  to  be  chivalrous.  Do  not  imagine  I 
would  have  you  less  considerate  or  thoughtful  of  anyone, 
or  less  demonstrative  in  your  feelings,  if  you  will  only 
remember  that  men  and  women  are  equal,  have  equal  duties 
and  privileges,  and  should  have  similar  treatment.  Great 
respect  should  go  where  it  is  deserved,  whether  to  man  or 
woman.  If  I  were  an  inhabitant  of  the  earth  and  a  woman, 
I  should  try  to  have  some  such  thought  as  this  :  one  man 
of  character  knows  another  good  man  is  his  equal ;  therefore 
as  they  treat  each  other  so  1  would  have  them  treat  me,  for 
then  I  would  know  that  they  held  me,  also,  as  an  equal, 
and  not  as  a  doll,  pretty  and  well  dressed  perhaps,  but 
brainless,  nor  as  a  child  who  must  not  be  told  things  too 
deep  for  its  mind." 

"  I  begin  to  understand  you,"  said  the  doctor.  "You 
first  get  me  to  admit  that  women  are  not  a  superior  order  of 
beings,  and  then  you  argue  that,  as  we  do  not  treat  them 
exactly  as  we  do  each  other,  we  cannot  consider  them  our 
equals,  and  therefore  nothing  remains  but  that  we  must 
look  upon  them  as  inferior  to  us." 

Zenith  gave  a  pleasant  little  pink  laugh  and  answered  : 

"  I  see  you  have  found  me  out.  But  you  do  not  deny 
that  my  logic  is  correct." 

"  I  have  tried  to  tell  you  several  times,"  returned  the 
doctor,  with  a  smile,  "  that,  as  for  me,  I  do  not  feel  guilty 
of  harboring  the  least  degrading  sentiment  toward  women. 
But  I  cannot  answer  for  the  opinions  of  the  world  at  large. 


3o8  DAYBREAK. 

This  subject  promises  to  be  more  interesting  than  we  antici- 
pated. I  see  you  know  a  great  deal  about  it.  Have  women 
always  been  accorded  an  equality  with  men,  or  is  it  a  part 
of  your  mature  development  ?  ' ' 

"  Now,  Doctor,  just  see  how  prejudiced  you  are.  You 
would  never  think  of  asking  if  the  men  of  Mars  had  aUvays 
been  the  equal  of  women.  It  would  be  quite  as  natural 
with  us  to  ask  it  in  one  way  as  the  other." 

"  I  will  try  again,  then,  by  asking  if  the  two  sexes  have 
always  been  so  happily  equal  as  at  this  time." 

"  I  will  give  you  a  direct  answer  to  that  question.  They 
have  not.  But  I  think  I  have  talked  enough  for  once. 
Thorwald  will  tell  you  all  about  our  tortuous  course  in 
reaching  our  present  condition,  if  you  wish." 

"  Not  at  all,"  said  Thorwald.  "  I  would  like  to  tell  it, 
but  this  is  a  topic  that  Zenith  has  taken  a  special  interest  in, 
and  she  shall  have  the  pleasure  of  talking  to  you  about  it." 

"  Now  then  !  "  I  said  to  myself,  "  here  is  a  difference  right 
away.  Zenith  says  Thorwald  must  tell  it ;  Thorwald  would 
like  to  do  so,  but  insists  on  sacrificing  himself  for  Zenith's 
sake.  Now,  what  if  Zenith  should  prefer  the  pleasure  of  self- 
denial,  and  refuse  to  let  Thorwald  immolate  his  desire  so 
readily  ?  What  could  prevent  war  in  this  happy  family  ? 
Would  a  quarrel  be  any  less  a  quarrel  because  its  cause  was 
unselfishness  rather  than  selfishness  ?  " 

But  if  I,  with  a  worldly  heart,  was  expecting  a  lapse  from 
these  excellent  people,  I  was  disappointed,  for  Zenith,  with 
a  look  of  wifely  affection  toward  Thorwald,  said  pleasantly  : 

"  Very  well,  since  Thorwald  is  so  kind,  I  will  do  my 
best,  if  you  are  sure  you  will  not  tire  of  hearing  me  talk." 

The  doctor  and  I  expressed  our  pleasure  with  the  arrange- 
ment, and  Zenith  began  : 

"  I  wish  to  say  at  the  start  that,  whatever  may  have  been 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN.  309 

your  experience  on  this  question,  it  is  hardly  possible  that 
your  mistakes  have  equaled  ours,  for  the  folly  and  wicked- 
ness of  our  race  have  been  stupendous  and  of  long  continu- 
ance." 

"  If  you  will  excuse  the  interruption,"  I  said,  "  I  will 
suggest  that  we  can  sympathize  with  you,  as  our  history 
shows  the  greatest  injustice  to  women." 

"  Your  remark  proves  to  me  that  you  cannot  fully  sym- 
pathize with  us.  I  did  not  infer,  as  you  seem  to  do,  that  the 
women  of  Mars  had  been  the  only  victims  of  injustice. 

'■'  But  without  further  delay  let  me  begin,  only  do  not. 
hesitate  to  break  in  upon  my  story  with  any  inquiries  that 
suggest  themselves  to  you. 

"  We  read  that  God  created  man,  male  and  female;  that 
is,  there  came  forth  from  the  hand  of  the  Maker  a  male 
man  and  a  female  man,  and  all  through  that  early  age  of 
gold  they  loved  each  other,  and  served  their  God  with  purity 
of  heart  and  without  a  selfish  thought.  God  was  their 
father,  they  were  his  children,  with  equal  privileges,  equal 
affection,  and  equal  ability  to  do  faithful  service.  No  evil 
spirit  was  near  to  whisper  in  the  ear  of  either  a  suggestion 
of  personal  leadership.  Ambition,  that  ambition  which 
would  exalt  self  at  the  expense  of  another,  was  not  yet 
born,  and  neither  of  these  happy  beings  could  conceive  it 
possible  to  achieve  a  higher  happiness  by  lording  it  over 
the  other. 

"  So  they  lived  till  sin  came ;  and  among  the  woes  which 
sin  brought  in  its  train  there  were  few  more  dreadful  than 
the  decree  that  the  man  should  rule  over  the  woman  and 
that  her  desire  should  be  unto  her  husband.  For  thousands 
of  years  our  race  struggled  against  that  giant  evil.  During 
a  long  period  the  condition  of  woman  was  so  low  that  we 
know  nothing  of  her,  and  when  she  reappears  it  is  only  as 


310  DAYBREAK. 

the  servant  of  man.  Made  in  the  image  of  God  as  the 
companion  of  man  and  an  equal  sharer  in  all  his  rights  and 
duties,  she  is  now  his  chattel,  a  piece  of  property,  held 
for  his  selfish  use  or  disposed  of  for  his  advantage. 

"  Even  in  these  dark  days  individuals  of  our  sex  rose  out 
of  the  general  degradation  and  showed  that  they  were  fitted 
by  nature  for  a  higher  position.  But  sin  and  ignorance 
kept  the  mass  of  them  under  the  heel  of  their  masters.  As 
civilization  advanced  there  came  some  mitigation  of  their 
lot,  and  where  pure  religion  gained  a  foothold  women 
began  to  receive  recognition ;  but  their  state  was  deplorable 
indeed  among  all  those  peoples  whose  religion  was  only 
gross  superstition  and  idolatry. 

"  In  the  process  of  time  Christ  came  and  brought  the 
light  of  heaven  to  this  dark  world,  and  from  that  hour 
woman  can  well  say  that  her  day  began  to  dawn.  One  of 
the  sweetest  strains  in  her  song  of  salvation  is  that  evoked 
by  the  memory  of  her  resurrection  from  misery  and  abase- 
ment to  a  position  of  honor  among  the  children  of  men. 
The  change,  however,  was  very  gradual,  for  Christianity 
itself  was  slow  in  gaining  ground ;  but  the  gospel  was  ever 
the  friend  of  woman,  as  of  all  the  oppressed,  lifting  her 
up  where  she  could  influence  the  world  and  begin  to  fulfill 
her  destiny.  As  fast  as  the  nations  shook  off  barbarism 
and  became  in  any  degree  enlightened,  the  unnatural  bur- 
dens were  lifted  from  the  shoulders  of  woman,  although  for 
a  long  time  she  was  compelled  to  perform  more  than  her 
share  of  severe  toil  even  among  people  who  thought  them- 
selves civilized. 

"  Then  came  a  time  when,  in  nations  of  some  refine- 
ment, there  was  such  a  reaction  against  the  injustice  and 
degradation  to  which  woman  had  so  long  been  subjected 
that  she  suddenly  became  an  object  of  sentimental  regard 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN.  31I 

among  courtly  men.  Her  noble  qualities  were  exaggerated 
far  beyond  their  merit,  and  she  was  set  on  a  pedestal,  to 
receive  homage  and  all  the  outward  forms  of  respect  from 
those  whom  she  so  recently  served  as  a  menial.  Being  so 
poorly  fitted  by  her  long  training  in  serfdom  for  such  exal- 
tation, what  wonder  is  it  that  her  head  was  turned  by  the 
flattery,  and  that  her  recovery  was  slow  and  difficult  ?  The 
insincere  and  superfluous  manners  of  that  period  remained 
for  ages  a  vexation  to  our  growing  intelligence  and  a  hin- 
drance to  our  true  progress  ;  and,  from  what  you  have  said, 
I  am  inclined  to  think  you  of  the  earth  are  now  going 
through  some  such  experience  as  ours. 

"  After  that  epoch  had  been  passed,  woman  never  fell 
back  to  her  former  condition,  although  she  did  not  yet  for 
a  long  time  reach  a  position  that  was  at  all  enviable, 
except  as  compared  with  the  dark  days  of  her  bondage. 
But  she  was  now  where  she  could  take  advantage  of  the 
general  uplifting  of  the  race,  and  though  kept  in  the  back- 
ground by  man  as  much  as  was  possible,  she  was  constantly 
growing  and  learning,  preparing  herself  for  a  future  of 
which  she  would  then  dare  not  even  to  dream. 

"  And  now  I  am  coming,  in  this  rapid  sketch,  to  that 
period  of  activity  and  change  which  Thorwald  has  de- 
scribed to  you  in  its  industrial  features.  In  portraying 
some  of  the  evils  of  those  days,  arising  from  our  almost 
ineradicable  selfishness,  he  was  obliged  to  make  his  picture 
a  somber  one,  a  necessity  under  which,  happily,  I  am  not 
placed.  Looking  at  the  times,  not  as  compared  with  the 
present  era  but  with  what  had  gone  before,  which  was  the 
only  comparison  the  people  of  that  day  could  make,  there 
was  much  room  for  encouragement.  It  was,  in  truth,  a 
bright  day,  whose  beauty,  however,  consisted  not  so  much  in 
the   realization   of    happiness    as    in    the   promise   of  still 


312  DAYBREAK. 

brighter  days  to  come.  Material  prosperity  abounded, 
education  flourished,  and  religion  was  beginning  to  creep 
down  from  men's  heads  into  their  hearts.  Wrongs  were 
righted,  justice  enthroned,  and  philanthropy  sprang  into 
being.  Even  while  there  was  so  much  evil,  and  while  some 
men  seemed  to  be  trying  all  they  could  to  keep  back  the 
breaking  dawn,  the  day  was  surely  coming.  The  brother- 
hood of  man,  long  preached  as  a  settled  principle,  now 
became  a  living  force,  showing  itself  in  a  multitude  of 
devices  for  relieving  distress,  lessening  pain,  alleviating 
poverty,  and  for  the  general  betterment  of  society. 

"  Surrounded  by  such  a  universal  spirit  of  improvement, 
woman  felt  the  impulse  of  new  life,  and  heard  the  call  to  a 
higher  service  to  humanity  than  she  had  ever  yet  rendered. 
As  men's  minds  broadened  and  their  hearts  grew  more  ten- 
der, and  as  their  sympathies  reached  out  to  the  weak  and 
down-trodden  of  every  class,  it  was  not  possible  that  their 
ancient  prejudice  against  woman  could  much  longer  sur- 
vive. Her  rise  from  this  time  forward  was  rapid.  Let  us 
examine  the  position  which,  under  the  influence  of  this 
kindly  feeling,  she  soon  came  to  occupy.  Protected  by 
many  special  laws,  guarded  by  all  the  legitimate  forces  of 
society,  but  exempt  from  military  and  police  service,  hon- 
ored for  her  high  and  noble  qualities,  respected  by  all 
whose  regard  was  of  value,  and  loved  with  a  true  affection 
which  scorned  the  question  of  individual  rights,  her  lot 
seemed  indeed  a  happy  one.  Shielded  from  the  severe 
struggles  of  life,  freed  from  the  cares  of  business,  released 
in  a  great  measure  from  uncongenial  work  and  from  the 
dangers  attending  exacting  labor,  with  the  disagreeable 
things  in  life  kept  from  her  as  much  as  possible,  always 
seeing  the  best  of  every  man's  character  and  manners,  and, 
more   than  all,  being  supreme  in  her  natural  domain,  the 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN.  313 

home,  with  none  to  dispute  her  right,  what  more  could  she 
ask  ?" 

"What,  indeed?"  I  remarked,  as  Zenith  paused  a 
moment  after  her  question.  "  The  picture  you  have  drawn 
looks  so  bright,  beside  your  description  of  her  former  lot, 
that  I  have  no  doubt  she  was  now  contented  and  happy." 

"  So  you  think  that  shelter  and  protection  and  the  love  of 
husband  and  children  and  the  serenity  of  home  ought  to  be 
enough  to  satisfy  one  who  was  created  with  a  spirit  as  rest- 
less, a  brain  as  active,  an  individuality  as  marked,  and 
hands  as  clever  as  those  of  man  ?  ' ' 

As  Zenith  threw  this  question  at  me  and  waited  for  me  to 
answer,  I  realized  that  I  had  been  caught  by  her  former 
inquiry,  and  found  now  that  Zenith  was  about  to  take  ad- 
vanced ground  on  the  subject  before  us.  Wishing  I  had  not 
drawn  her  attention  so  squarely  to  my  personal  opinions, 
and  yet  feeling  obliged  to  stand  up  for  my  position,  I  said  : 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  woman's  surest  path  to  honor  and 
happiness  is  that  marked  out  for  her  by  nature,  a  path  which 
she  adorns  because  so  well  fitted  for  it,  and  that  to  forsake 
the  home  and  compete  with  man  for  the  thousand  places  in 
the  work  of  the  world  would  be  to  cast  aside  the  charm  of 
her  womanliness  and  all  that  makes  her  what  she  is,  a  solace 
and  comfort  to  all  the  world.  If  she  seeks  for  a  pleasurable 
life,  where  can  she  find  such  keen  and  lasting  pleasure  as 
among  the  duties  of  home,  and  if  she  is  ambitious  to  lift 
the  world  to  a  higher  plane,  where  is  it  possible  for  her  to 
have  so  much  influence  as  in  the  nurture  of  the  young  ?  " 

'*'  So  spoke  the  men  of  our  race  in  the  era  I  am  describing 
to  you,"  replied  Zenith.  "  It  seems  as  if  you  must  have 
been  reading  some  of  our  old  writers,  so  closely  do  you 
follow  the  ideas  then  prevalent.  I  have  read  and  reread 
those  histories  until   I  am  quite  familiar  with  them,  and 


314  DAYBREAK. 

you  shall  hear  how  such  views  as  you  have  expressed  soon 
became  very  old-fashioned." 

"  I  am  sure  your  account  will  closely  concern  us,"  I 
said,  "  for  the  age  of  which  you  are  now  speaking  must  be 
that  corresponding  to  our  own  times  on  the  earth.  The 
woman  question  is  attracting  special  attention,  and  seems 
bound  to  remain  with  us  indefinitely;  but  I  am  frank  to 
say  I  think  our  women  are  making  a  mistake  in  trying 
to  elbow  their  way  into  man's  domain,  whatever  may  have 
been  the  result  of  the  movement  in  this  favored  world." 

"  I  suppose  you  would  have  them  stay  at  home  where  they 
belong,"  said  Zenith,  with  a  good-natured  laugh,  which 
sounded  as  if  she  were  confident  enough  of  her  ability  to 
meet  any  possible  argument. 

"Yes,"  I  replied,  "out  of  pure  kindness  to  them.  It 
is  an  astonishing  thing  to  me  that  they  can  think  of  gain- 
ing anything  by  giving  up  all  that  is  distinctive  in  their 
nature  and  becoming  more  like  us.  I  am  not  so  much  in 
love  with  my  own  sex  as  to  enjoy  seeing  our  sisters  and  our 
wives  and  daughters  trying  to  make  themselves  over  into 
men." 

I  now  felt  that  I  had  said  enough,  and  so  expressed  my- 
self to  Zenith,  but  she  replied  pleasantly  that  she  was  glad 
I  had  told  my  thoughts,  as  it  gave  her  an  opportunity  to  say 
some  things  that  might  not  otherwise  have  been  called  for. 

"You  seem  to  think,"  she  continued,  "that  woman's 
supreme  happiness  is  to  be  gained  by  self-effacement.  I 
suppose  her  custom  is  with  you,  as  it  formerly  was  here,  to 
renounce  her  own  name  at  the  marriage  altar." 

"  It  is,"  I  replied. 

"And  from  that  hour,"  resumed  Zenith,  "she  makes 
every  effort  to  bury  herself,  to  deny  her  personality,  and  to 
lay  aside  whatever  individual  desires  and  aspirations  she  may 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN.  315 

have  had  ;  that  is,  if  she  is  what  you  would  call  a  true  woman. 
If  she  objects  to  this  renunciation  and  attempts  to  make  an 
independent  career  suited  to  her  talents,  then  she  is  strong- 
minded  and  is  trying  to  unsex  herself.  With  the  world 
full  of  work  waiting  for  her  nimble  fingers  and  loving  heart, 
she  is  compelled  to  suppress  all  secret  hope  of  doing  some- 
thing to  impress  her  own  character  on  that  world,  because 
her  only  duty  is  in  the  home.  A  man  is  also  called  upon 
to  be  a  good  husband  and  father,  but  that  by  no  means 
comprises  all  he  is  expected  to  be  and  do.  To  him  it  is 
given  to  strike  out  into  untrodden  fields,  and,  without 
reproach,  to  make  a  name  for  himself  if  possible. 

"  You  say  work  is  hard  and  disagreeable,  but  is  it  all 
dull  and  uninteresting  ?  Are  there  not  sweet  moments  of 
hope  in  every  work,  and  then  the  joy  of  achievement  when 
it  is  over  ?  Do  not  men  find  this  joy  and  the  rewards  of 
labor  amply  sufificient  ?  The  more  difficult  the  task,  the 
greater  the  satisfaction  when  it  is  accomplished.  Business 
is  perplexing  and  uncertain,  you  say,  but  what  of  the  tri- 
umphs of  success  ?  Would  any  man  refuse  to  undertake  an 
enterprise  because  success  was  not  certain  ?  The  very  un- 
certainty adds  zest  to  the  business,  and  makes  hope  possi- 
ble. From  all  this  striving  and  achieving,  and  from  all  the 
satisfying  rewards  which  come  with  success,  woman  is 
debarred.  Then  there  are  the  professions  and  the  wide 
range  of  occupations  which  require  education  and  special 
training.  What  a  variety  for  man  to  choose  from,  while  you 
would  confine  woman  to  one  ;  and  a  great  many  women,  not 
being  bom  good  cooks  or  good  housekeepers,  cannot  fill 
that  one  with  any  credit  to  themselves.  So  what  can  life 
be  to  them  compared  with  what  it  ought  to  be?  Think  of 
the  opportunities  they  might  have  in  these  higher  occupa- 
tions of  competing  for   the    prizes   of  life — honor,   fame, 


3l6  DAYBREAK. 

position,  riches,  and,  above  all,  the  consciousness  of  doing 
some  good  in  the  world.  Oh,  it  is  impossible  for  you  to 
realize  anything  of  the  longing  in  woman's  heart  to  be 
someone,  to  do  something,  and  so  to  be  relieved  from  the 
everlasting  monotony  of  the  treadmill,  which,  if  men  were 
obliged  to  submit  to  it,  would  make  the  majority  of  them 
insane. 

"  You  see  I  have  put  myself  in  the  place  of  one  of  my 
sex  in  that  olden  time,  and  have  spoken  as  she  felt  when  to 
express  her  feelings  would  have  been  almost  a  shame  to  her. 

"  What  I  desire  to  show  you  is  that  woman  had  not  then 
received  all  that  was  due  her,  although  men  seemed  to  think 
she  was  fully  emancipated.  But  events  moved  rapidly 
in  that  stirring  age,  and  this  great  question  could  not  be 
kept  in  the  background  in  a  day  when  every  abuse  and 
injustice  was  allowed  a  hearing  and  reform  was  in  the  very 
air.  Even  the  dumb  beasts  had  such  powerful  advocates 
that  cruelty  and  unkindness  were  greatly  checked.  What 
wonder  then,  as  men's  sensibilities  and  consciences  became 
quickened,  that  they  should  begin  to  see,  what  they  could 
not  see  before,  that  a  fuller  liberty  ought  to  be  accorded 
to  woman  ?  But  this  vision  came  not  without  help.  Some- 
times in  our  history  we  have  known  of  a  race  being  deprived 
of  their  freedom,  and  so  benumbed  by  their  condition  that 
they  desired  nothing  better,  and  so  perforce  waited  for  a 
movement  for  their  enfranchisement  to  come  from  without. 
It  was  not  so  in  this  case.  \\'omen  themselves  cried  out 
against  their  lot.  They  were  not  so  enraptured  with  the 
calm  and  quiet  of  their  conventional  life  but  that  they  felt 
the  stirrings  of  ambition  for  something  different,  and  they 
did  not  fear  to  raise  their  voice  for  more  liberty." 

"Liberty!"  I  echoed.  "Were  they  really  deprived  of 
liberty  ?" 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN.  317 

"  Yes,  liberty  to  choose  a  calling  that  would  suit  their 
individual  tastes  and  satisfy  their  growing  ambition." 

"  Excuse  me,"  I  again  interrupted,  "  but  were  not  these 
women  who  exhibited  so  much  restlessness  unattached — 
that  is,  without  many  family  ties  ?  And  were  not  the  great 
majority  so  contented  in  the  shelter  of  home  and  so 
engrossed  in  the  care  of  husband  and  children  that  they 
were  entire  strangers  to  any  such  disturbing  fancies,  or  ambi- 
tions as  you  call  them  ?  And,  again,  did  not  this  large 
class  of  happy  and  busy  wives  and  mothers  resent  the  action 
of  those  self-appointed  liberators  who  were  fighting  for  an 
image  of  straw  and  crying  themselves  hoarse  over  imaginary 
wrongs  ?  ' ' 

Zenith  smiled  again  in  that  peculiar  manner  which  told 
me,  in  the  pleasantest  possible  way,  that  she  was  perfectly 
sure  I  was  on  the  losing  side,  and  with  the  smile  she 
resumed  : 

"  Your  questions  are  so  familiar  to  one  who  has  studied 
this  subject  that  they  seem  like  another  plagiarism,  as  it 
were,  from  our  histories,  but  I  will  give  you  fair 
answers. 

"  It  is  true  that  the  early  protests  came  from  the  solitary 
women,  unfortunately  not  a  small  class  at  that  day,  who, 
being  without  legal  protectors,  felt  the  inequalities  of  the 
law  and  the  unjust  restraints  put  upon  their  sex  by  soci-ety, 
but  the  truths  they  spoke  came  with  added  force  because 
of  their  intimate  acquaintance  with  their  needs. 

''  You  are  wrong  in  your  supposition  that  the  mass  of 
women  were  so  shallow  in  mind  as  to  know  nothing  of 
those  longings  for  a  fuller,  more  satisfying  life.  Deep  in 
their  nature,  planted  by  the  Creator  himself,  was  the  same 
lofty  spirit  with  which  man  was  endowed,  and  it  could  not 
be  smothered  by  marriage.      Taking  a  husband  should  not, 


3l8  DAYBREAK. 

and  in  reality  does  not  now,  change  one's  ambition  or  aim 
in  life  any  more  than  taking  a  wife  does,  but  in  those  be- 
nighted days  men,  after  marriage,  could  go  forward  with 
their  plans  just  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  while  the 
women  were  supposed  to  forget  their  high  hopes  and  aspi- 
rations and  confine  themselves  entirely  to  the  trivial  round 
of  domestic  duties.  The  men,  however,  were  much  mis- 
taken if  they  thought  their  wives  were  forgetting.  They 
but  bided  their  time. 

"  In  your  last  question  you  are  not  altogether  wrong,  for 
there  were  a  few  unthinking  ones  who  joined  with  some  of 
the  men  in  ridiculing  the  whole  movement  as  unnecessary 
and  foolish.  But  this  class  had  not  much  influence,  and,  in 
spite  of  such  opposition  as  they  offered,  the  reform  made 
steady  progress. 

"  As  a  help  to  obtain  what  she  was  striving  for,  woman 
asked  for  the  right  of  suffrage,  and  thereupon  had  to  un- 
dergo a  fusillade  of  cheap  criticism  from  those  who  would 
not  understand  her,  and  who  supposed  she  wanted  this  priv- 
ilege as  an  end  and  not  as  a  means.  Men  were  slow  to  grant 
the  right  to  vote,  but  after  much  discussion  suffrage  began 
to  be  allowed  in  matters  where  the  women  were  particu- 
larly interested.  With  the  first  concession,  however,  men 
realized  that  the  force  of  all  their  arguments  was  broken, 
and  before  many  years  the  full  right  was  bestowed. 

"  And  now,  Thorwald,  I  am  sure  our  good  friends  did  not 
come  so  far  from  home  to  hear  me  talk  all  the  time.  The 
rest  of  the  subject  concerns  your  sex  as  much  as  mine,  and 
you  had  better  take  up  the  story  at  this  point." 

"  Oh,  no,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  I  shall  not  take  the  nar- 
rative away  from  you  now,  you  may  be  sure,  for  what  is  left 
is  just  the  part  you  can  best  relate.  I  shall  enjoy  it  as 
much  as  our  friends  from  the  earth.     But  I  propose  that  we 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    WOMAN.  319 

hear  the  rest  this  afternoon,  and  that,  in  the  meantime,  we 
go  out  for  a  drive." 

"  A  drive,"  I  asked,  "  what  do  you  drive  ?  " 

"You  shall  see,"  Thorwald  answered,  as  he  stepped  to 
the  telephone.  I  thought  I  should  hear  his  message,  but 
found  the  instrument  had  been  further  improved.  In  the 
use  of  the  telephone  as  I  had  known  it,  everybody  in  the 
house  was  much  surer  of  hearing  what  was  said  than  the 
person  at  the  other  end  of  the  line  was,  but  here  the  one 
addressed  was  the  only  one  to  get  a  word  of  the  communi- 
cation. 

Thorwald  talked  to  us  a  short  time  about  other  matters, 
and  then  asked  us  all  to  prepare  to  go  out.  When  we 
reached  the  door  the  doctor  and  I  were  surprised  to  see  a 
beautiful  and  commodious  carriage,  to  which  were  attached, 
with  the  lightest  possible  harness,  four  of  the  handsomest 
horses  we  had  ever  seen.  There  were,  besides,  two  fine 
saddle-horses  for  the  children,  who  were  to  accompany  us. 

Thorwald  drove,  but  without  rein  or  whip,  the  horses 
being  guided  perfectly  and  easily  merely  by  word  of  mouth. 
The  animals  were  also  so  large  and  strong  that  they  seemed 
to  enjoy  the  sport  as  much  as  we  did. 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  I  inquired,  "  that  such  a  turn- 
out as  this  can  be  had  for  the  asking  ?  " 

"  Certainly.  I  just  said  through  the  telephone  that  I 
would  like  a  carriage  for  four  persons,  and  two  saddle- 
horses.  The  man  who  has  the  care  of  the  horses  is  a  friend 
of  mine  who  likes  the  work  better  than  anything  else." 

"The  horses  appear  to  be  well  broken,"  the  doctor 
remarked. 

"Broken,"  said  Zenith,  "what  do  you  mean  by  that. 
Doctor  ?  ' ' 

"Why,  it  is  an  expression  by  which  we  mean  that  the 


320 


DAYBREAK. 


high  spirit  with  which  they  were  born  has  been  subdued, 
making  it  easy  to  train  them  to  obedience." 

"  They  must  be  wild,  then,"  spoke  Zenith  again,  "  and 
you  are  obliged  to  tame  them.  The  difference  here  is  that 
the  horses  are  born  tame  and  do  not  need  breaking,  and 
though  they  have  plenty  of  spirit,  as  you  see,  they  are  so 
intelligent  and  have  such  solidity  of  character  that  there  is 
never  any  danger  that  they  will  become  unmanageable." 

"  That  must  be  so,"  said  I,  "or  you  could  not  be  sure 
of  being  free  from  accidents.  But  tell  us,  Thorwald,  how 
it  happens  that  we  have  not  seen  others  enjoying  this  de- 
lightful mode  of  traveling." 

"  It  is  not  very  singular  that  you  have  not  seen  any  horses 
before,"  said  Thorwald.  "  They  have  been  entirely  super- 
seded in  all  kinds  of  business,  you  remember,  by  mechan- 
ical power,  and  even  for  pleasure-riding  most  people  are 
too  tender  of  heart  to  enjoy  using  them.  They  fear  the 
horses  will  be  fatigued,  and  they  do  not  like  to  see  them 
straining  themselves  in  dragging  a  heavy  load,  when  there 
is  a  force  that  has  no  feeling  ready  to  do  it  a  great  deal 
better. 

"  But  you  can  see  these  horses  are  not  working  very  hard, 
and  it  is  a  good  thing  for  us  sometimes  to  give  up  a  little 
sentiment.  There  is  some  danger  that  our  sympathies  may 
carry  us  too  far.  For  instance,  it  is  probably  a  real  kind- 
ness to  these  horses  to  give  them  a  little  work,  if  we  are 
only  careful  not  to  render  their  service  galling  to  them  ;  and 
yet  there  are  many  people  who  never  drive,  on  account  of 
the  feeling  they  have  for  the  beasts." 

"  It  would  be  a  good  thing  if  we  had  more  of  that  senti- 
ment on  the  earth,"  said  the  doctor. 


"the  horses  are  born  tame. 


CHAPTER   XXXIV. 

THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    MAN. 

After  an  exhilarating  ride,  in  which  the  doctor  and  I, 
certainly,  were  not  troubled  by  any  over-sensitiveness  in 
regard  to  such  robust  horses,  we  returned  to  the  house  and 
soon  found  ourselves  seated  in  the  music  room  listening  to 
one  of  their  famous  dramatists  reciting  his  own  words 
through  the  phonograph.  Next  we  had  some  music,  and 
then  a  poem,  from  the  same  prolific  instrument. 

When  this  entertainment  was  over,  and  after  lunch,  Zenith, 
at  our  urgent  request,  seconded  by  Thorwald's  solicitation, 
resumed  her  narrative. 

"  We  read,"  she  began,  "  that  during  the  time  when  men 
were  grudgingly  bestowing  the  right  of  suffrage  on  our  sex, 
woman  was  making  rapid  strides  toward  a  position  in  soci- 
ety fitted  to  her  talents  and  aspirations.  One  occupation 
after  another  became  available,  and  it  was  no  longer  a  dis- 
grace or  hardly  a  peculiarity  for  women  to  be  earning  their 
living  instead  of  depending  for  support  on  their  fathers  or 
brothers.  This  tended  to  create  in  them  a  feeling  of  inde- 
pendence, and  in  many  employments  they  had  every  right 
to  be  proud  of  their  attainments,  for,  with  so  little  train- 
ing, they  often  surjDassed  the  men  at  their  own  trades. 
Even  then,  however,  some  of  the  old  prejudice  against  the 
sex  seemed  to  remain  in  force,  since  women  were  discrimi- 
nated against  in  the  matter  of  wages.     When  they  did  the 

21 


322  DAYBREAK. 

same  work  and  did  it  better,  still  their  pay  was  less  than 
that  of  men.  But  this  was  a  temporary  injustice,  which 
disappeared,  as  it  was  bound  to  do,  when  woman  had  ac- 
quired her  full  freedom  and  had  been  in  the  field  long 
enough  to  prove  her  right  and  ability  to  stay. 

"  The  work  at  which  women  excelled  was  that  requiring 
a  quick  intelligence,  nimble  fingers,  and  the  faculty  of  easy 
adaptability.  In  the  realm  of  physical  strength  woman 
was  not  a  competitor,  but  there  was  another  field  in  which 
she  more  than  made  up  for  that  loss,  and  in  which  she  early 
began  to  show  great  native  ability.  That  was  in  all  pur- 
suits demanding  the  education  of  the  mind.  Here  is 
where  she  was  to  look  for  the  greatest  of  her  victories. 
Nature  had  endowed  man  with  a  superior  strength  of  body 
and  muscle,  but  woman  with  a  higher  order  of  mind." 

"  I  must  interrupt  you  here,  Zenith,"  said  the  doctor. 
"  This  is  assuredly  an  instance  where  your  race  differs  mate- 
rially from  that  of  the  earth,  for  wjth  us  man  has  by  nature 
the  stronger  mind." 

"  How  do  you  know  ?  "  asked  Zenith. 

"  It  has  been  proved  so  in  all  ages." 

"  Yes,  but  does  not  the  expression  '  all  ages  '  include  with 
you  only  the  ages  in  which  man  has  been  the  ruling  spirit, 
and  woman  has  been  kept  down  and  allowed  but  little 
opportunity  to  show  the  strength  of  her  mental  faculties? 
You  know  our  history  takes  in  not  only  a  period  similar  to 
that  covered  by  your  whole  career,  but  also  other  ages  which 
we  believe  correspond  with  the  years  yet  to  come  for  the 
inhabitants  of  the  earth.  It  has  been  during  the  latter  era, 
a  time  which  you  have  not  yet  seen,  that  woman  has  proved 
the  truth  of  my  assertion." 

"I  wish  to  make  myself  understood,"  said  the  doctor 
again.      "  I  am  willing  to  grant  the  equality  of  the  sexes. 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    MAN.  323 

as  far  as  natural  rights  go ;  that  is,  that  every  man  and  every 
woman  ought  to  have  the  opportunity  to  develop  all  their 
talents,  untrammeled  by  any  edict  or  convention  of  soci- 
ety. Perhaps  I  would  agree  with  you  also  in  believing  it 
would  be  better  to  treat  men  and  women  alike,  with  open- 
hearted,  sincere  courtesy,  and  use  equal  ceremony  in  show- 
ing respect  to  individuals  of  either  sex.  But  it  seems  to 
me  that  there  is  a  vast  difference  between  all  that  and  your 
latest  position.  There  are  many  people  of  our  generation 
on  the  earth,  and  their  number  is  rapidly  increasing,  who 
believe  in  the  essential  equality  of  the  sexes,  but  I  never 
heard  one  put  forward  anything  approaching  the  claim  you 
make,  that  woman  was  created  with  a  higher  order  of  mind 
than  man — I  believe  that  was  your  expression ;  and  this  is 
why  I  say  that  in  this  particular  your  race  differs  greatly 
from  ours." 

To  which  Zenith  replied  : 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  of  that,  my  dear  doctor.  It  would 
seem  hardly  fair  that  man  should  be  given  both  physical 
and  mental  superiority.  But  please  tell  me  again  why  you 
think  man  has  the  stronger  mind." 

"  Because  he  has  done  the  thinking  of  the  world.  The 
intellectual  achievements  of  woman,  though  occasionally 
brilliant,  are  not  to  be  compared  with  those  of  man.  This 
is  true  in  every  department  throughout  our  history — in 
science  and  art,  in  religion,  in  literature,  in  government, 
and  in  everj^thing  that  I  could  name.  It  is  hardly  to  the 
point  for  you  to  say  that  woman  would  have  done  more  if 
she  had  possessed  a  fuller  freedom ;  perhaps  it  is  true,  but 
it  seems  to  me  a  matter  of  conjecture.  Neither  is  it  a 
complete  answer  for  you  to  say  that  in  the  years  to  come 
woman,  being  wholly  enfranchised,  v/ill  revolutionize  the 
world  by  her  unexpected  powers.     We  can  judge  only  by 


324 


DAYBREAK. 


what  she  has  done.  Excuse  me,  Zenith,  for  trying  to  up- 
hold my  point.  It  is  rather  discouraging,  when  I  can  see 
by  your  face  that  you  can  demolish  my  argument  in  a 
moment,  whenever  you  choose  to  attempt  it." 

We  all  laughed  at  the  doctor's  want  of  courage,  and 
Zenith  answered  : 

"  I  beg  your  pardon ;  I  am  greatly  at  fault  if  I  have  any 
such  expression  in  my  face.  My  confidence,  if  I  have  any, 
is  not  in  any  supposed  ability  I  may  have  in  conversation, 
but  in  our  experience  here  on  Mars.  Your  history  matches 
ours  so  well  up  to  your  generation  that  I  cannot  but  think 
the  likeness  will  continue;  and  if  it  does,  then  woman,  in 
your  near  future,  will  prove  the  truth  of  my  statement.  But 
before  I  proceed  to  tell  you  what  she  has  done  in  this  world, 
let  me  ask  you  if  your  women  have  shown  any  mental  pecu- 
liarity which  distinguishes  them  from  men." 

"Yes,"  answered  the  doctor,  "their  intuitive  percep- 
tions appear  to  be  more  developed  than  those  of  men,  prob- 
ably because  they  use  them  more.  A  man  may  reach 
a  certain  conclusion  by  a  course  of  reasoning,  while  a 
woman  will  often  arrive  at  the  same  point  much  quicker  by 
intuition.  That  is,  a  man  will  tell  you  why  he  knows  a 
thing,  when  a  woman  simply  knows  it  because  she  knows  it." 

"  Is  that  faculty  akin  to  anything  else  with  which  you 
are  acquainted  ?  " 

"  Yes,  we  call  it  instinct  in  animals." 

"  Is  not  the  possession  by  woman  of  that  quality  a  silent 
but  powerful  suggestion  to  you  of  the  fact  that  she  was 
treated  like  an  animal  in  the  dark  days  of  her  inthrall- 
ment  ?  " 

"  I  had  not  thought  of  it,"  returned  the  doctor,  "  but  it 
certainly  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  sad  commentary  on  that 
rude  age." 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    MAN.  325 

"  Do  you  consider  this  instinct  an  advantage  to  woman  ?  " 
asked  Zenith. 

"  Certainly;  it  is  a  great  help  to  her,  often  ser\-ing  with 
much  success  in  place  of  other  faculties." 

"  Would  it  be  a  valuable  quality  to  add  to  man's  mental 
equipment  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,  if  he  could  retain  all  his  other  powers  of 
mind." 

*'  Well,  now  let  me  ask  you  what  would  come  to  pass  if 
the  women  of  the  earth,  possessed  already  of  that  quickness 
of  thought,  that  ability  to  discern  the  truth  by  direct  ap- 
prehension, should,  by  thorough  education  and  many  years 
of  patient  training,  acquire  the  power  of  reasoning,  the 
judgment,  the  strength  of  mind,  and  all  the  intellectual 
powers  now  held  by  your  men  ?  ' ' 

"  That  is  a  very  large  '  if,'  and  I  cannot  tell  you  what 
would  happen,"  answered  the  doctor. 

"I  have  only  described,"  continued  Zenith,  "what 
actually  took  place  on  our  planet.  When  the  movement  for 
giving  woman  a  higher  education  began,  men  looked  at 
the  subject  just  as  you  do  now.  ^Vomen  were  supposed  to 
be  of  inferior  mental  capacity,  and  it  was  thought  to  be  a 
foolish  thing  to  attempt  to  educate  them.  '  Better  educate 
the  boys,'  men  said,  'and  let  the  girls  learn  to  cook  and 
sew  and  to  play  the  piano;  that  is  all  that  will  ever  be 
required  of  them.'  But,  in  spite  of  every  discouragement, 
the  girls  improved  their  opportunities  so  well  that  they 
were  soon  taking  the  prizes  away  from  the  boys.  Broad- 
minded  philanthropists  of  both  sexes  endowed  schools  for 
them,  and  the  highest  institutions  of  learning  opened  their 
doors  to  them.  When  the  young  women,  almost  from  the 
start,  began  to  be  successful  in  competitive  contests  in 
different    departments    of    scholarship,    it    was    generally 


326  DAYBREAK. 

thought  that  such  cases  were  exceptional  and  would  not  be 
apt  to  be  repeated  very  often.  But  this  was  a  great  mis- 
take. These  instances  proved  to  be  no  exception.  It  was 
found  that  woman's  facility  of  thought  and  native  acute- 
ness  gave  her  an  immense  advantage  over  the  masculine 
mind  in  mastering  any  ordinary  course  of  study.  But  this 
was  surface  education.  The  reasoning  power  and  the  solid- 
ity of  mind  for  which  men  were  distinguished  in  mature 
life  came  later,  but  they  came. 

"  At  first,  only  here  and  there  a  girl  was  f-ortunate  enough 
to  be  offered  a  liberal  education ;  but  when  it  was  found 
that  in  almost  every  instance  they  brought  great  credit  on 
themselves,  the  number  increased  with  rapidity,  until  a  col- 
lege course  was  the  customary  and  expected  close  of  almost 
every  girl's  school-days.  For  it  was  not  the  rich  only  that 
had  this  advantage,  since  by  this  time  education  was  free, 
being  provided  either  by  the  public  or  by  universities  richly 
endowed. 

"  All  this  time  the  boys  seemed  to  find  a  great  attraction 
in  business  and  the  trades,  and  appeared  to  be  willing  that 
the  girls  should  have  a  monopoly  of  the  higher  education. 
One  circumstance  that  greatly  helped  this  state  of  things 
was  the  extraordinary  furor  that  prevailed  just  then  in  the 
matter  of  manual  training.  This  system  had  received  more 
or  less  attention  from  educators  for  many  years,  and  it  had 
been  introduced  into  schools  as  an  addition  to  the  regular 
course  of  study.  That  was  a  material  age.  Men  desired 
first  of  all  to  be  practical,  and  the  new  method  of  teach- 
ing, being  eminently  practical,  became  exceedingly  popu- 
lar with  the  boys.  The  parents,  not  dreaming  where  it 
would  end,  and  seeing  the  eager  interest  with  which  their 
sons  now  crowded  into  the  schools,  encouraged  them  in  it. 

"Schools  of  technique,  in  which  the  literary  branches 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    MAN.  327 

were  entirely  subordinate,  sprang  up  on  every  hand,  and 
two  or  three  years  spent  in  these  institutions  took  the  place 
of  a  college  course.  The  old  universities  tried  to  meet 
the  changing  sentiment  by  paying  more  attention  to  science, 
by  giving  the  students  a  free  choice  of  studies,  and  by  short- 
ening the  course  when  desired.  But  the  mechanical  idea 
in  the  nevv^  education  seemed  to  be  the  attraction.  The 
boys  were  seized  with  a  passion  for  doing  something  with 
their  hands,  and  their  inventive  faculties  were  quickened, 
increasing  in  a  remarkable  degree  their  interest  in  their 
work  and  studies. 

"  For  a  long  time  this  movement  was  thought  to  be  a 
great  advance  in  education.  It  was  such  an  improvement 
on  the  old  way,  to  find  the  young  men  learning  something 
useful,  rather  than  wasting  their  time  over  the  dead  lan- 
guages and  other  things  they  would  never  need  after  finish- 
ing school.  And  it  must  be  acknowledged  that  all  this 
industrial  impulse  was  of  advantage  to  the  world  in  its 
way.  It  multiplied  labor-saving  machinery,  added  to  the 
people's  comforts  in  many  ways,  and  increased  the  general 
prosperity  and  well-being  of  society  as  far  as  material  im- 
provements could  do  it. 

"  But  there  was  another  side  to  the  picture.  So  much 
time  could  not  be  given  to  training  the  hand  and  harden- 
ing the  muscle  without  detracting  from  the  attention  due 
to  the  cultivation  of  the  brain.  To  be  sure,  the  brain  was 
active  enough,  but  it  was  receiving  a  one-sided  develop- 
ment, which  boded  it  no  permanent  good. 

"  I  have  spoken  at  such  length  of  this  almost  universal 
rage  for  technical  education,  because  it  was  a  chief  factor 
in  turning  the  world  over." 

We  all  smiled  at  this  expression,  and  the  doctor  asked  : 

"  How  did  it  overturn  the  world  ?  " 


328  DAYBREAK. 

"  By  aiding  in  taking  the  real  brain  work  away  from  tlie 
men  and  giving  it  to  the  women." 

"  Did  this  actually  happen  ?  " 

"  Certainly  it  did.  Not  in  a  day,  but  in  the  process  of 
time.  How  could  it  be  otherwise,  when  the  women  alone 
had  been  for  many  years  going  through  that  long,  patient 
mind-drilling  which  is  the  only  preparation  for  a  thorough 
education  ?  When  the  young  men  observed  that  a  civil 
engineer,  a  superintendent  of  a  factory,  or  even  a  skilled 
mechanic  could  earn  a  larger  salary  than  a  college  grad- 
uate, it  took  away  much  of  the  incentive  for  the  old-fash- 
ioned education,  and  they  were  perfectly  willing  to  see 
their  sisters  take  what  they  had  not  time  for. 

''  And  so  it  came  about  that  the  women  began  to  crowd 
into  the  learned  professions ;  and,  as  there  was  not  one 
which  they  could  not  adorn,  the  prejudice  against  them 
soon  wore  off,  and  before  many  years  they  were  competing 
with  men  in  all  the  grandest  fields  of  human  action.  Even 
in  the  matter  of  government  woman's  power  was  felt.  Men 
were  so  engrossed  in  the  endeavor  to  develop  to  their  full- 
est extent  the  material  resources  of  the  planet  that  they 
became  careless  of  the  higher  duties  of  citizenship,  espe- 
cially after  the  women  began  to  take  control  of  things. 
They  saw  affairs  were  well  managed,  and  seemed  to  be 
relieved  to  have  them  taken  out  of  their  hands,  not  dream- 
ing that  they  were  forging  chains  for  themselves  which  it 
would  take  long  years  to  break.  Although  the  world  was 
constantly  growing  better,  it  was  far  from  a  perfect  age. 
Human  nature  was  still  a  synonym  for  selfishness,  and  with 
men  and  women  measuring  swords  on  every  intellectual 
battlefield  a  contest  for  supremacy  was  inevitable. 

"  Man  was  absorbed  in  his  chosen  work,  he  was  indiffer- 
ent to  public  affairs,  and  he  was,  in  his  way,  proud  of  the 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    MAN.  329 

position  woman  was  taking  in  the  world,  but  he  could  not 
let  her  assume  his  place  as  acknowledged  leader  without  a 
struggle.  He  said  he  had  given  her  her  rights,  and  now 
she  wanted  to  deprive  him  of  his  rights. 

"  There  was  too  much  truth  in  this,  for  society  had  not 
reached  a  state  where  the  sexes  could  live  in  perfect 
equality.  It  was  admitted  by  all  that  there  must  be  a 
head,  both  in  the  household  and  in  the  state,  and  it  long 
remained  a  question  which  should  rule.  But  was  there 
ever  a  struggle  of  long  continuance  on  the  earth  in  which 
mind  did  not  triumph  at  last  ?  " 

"  I  must  answer  in  the  negative,"  replied  the  doctor, 
"  although  I  perceive  it  will  help  your  argument." 

"Why,  this  is  not  an  argument,"  continued  Zenith. 
"  It  is  simply  a  story  of  what  has  taken  place  on  this 
planet.  If  you  have  any  doubt  of  it,  ask  Thorwald.  You 
have  known  him  longer  than  you  have  me,  and,  perhaps, 
would  have  more  confidence  in  what  he  would  say.  He 
ought  to  have  told  this  part  of  the  story  himself.  I  know 
you  think  I  am  exaggerating,  because  you  see  I  am  making 
my  sex  come  out  ahead." 

Zenith  said  this  in  a  playful  manner,  which  showed  she 
was  as  far  as  possible  from  being  offended,  but  the  doctor 
pretended  to  take  her  seriously,  and  replied  with  feeling : 

"  Do  forgive  me,  Zenith,  for  my  thoughtless  expression, 
and  pray  do  not  stop  in  your  narrative  at  this  interesting 
point.  I  will  tell  you  how  I  came  to  use  the  word  to 
which  you  object.  While  you  were  talking  I  was  thinking 
how  one  would  be  received  on  the  earth,  who  should  attempt 
an  argiraient  to  show  the  probability  that  anything  like 
what  you  are  telling  us  should  ever  come  to  pass  there." 

"Well,  how  would  such  an  argument  be  received?" 
asked  Zenith. 


330  DAYBREAK. 

''  It  would  probably  be  passed  by  without  any  notice 
whatever,  if  you  will  excuse  me  for  telling  the  truth," 
answered  the  doctor.  "  It  certainly  would  not  be  looked 
upon  as  serious,  and  I  fear  it  would  not  even  receive  the 
dignity  of  being  called  funny.  Even  the  women  would 
laugh  feebly  at  the  extravagant  notion,  and  think  no  more 
of  it.  But  we  were  talking  of  Mars,  not  of  the  earth,  and 
I  am  exceedingly  anxious  to  know  how  affairs  progressed 
here,  though  there  is  no  likelihood  that  they  will  ever  be 
paralleled  among  us." 

"  I  would  not  be  too  sure,  Doctor,"  spoke  up  Thorwald. 
"  Better  wait  till  Zenith  is  through." 

"  I  shall  wait  longer  than  that  before  I  believe  the  earth 
will  ever  go  through  such  an  experience.  But  now  I  am 
ready  to  listen." 

''When  I  speak  of  woman  assuming  leadership,"  re- 
sumed Zenith,  "  do  not  misunderstand  me.  Although 
society  was  not  perfect,  still  it  v/as  not  a  gross  age,  and 
there  was  no  return  to  the  manners  of  those  rude  times 
when  women  were  cruelly  treated  and  men  took  all  the 
good  in  the  world  to  themselves.  Oh,  no,  there  was  no 
absence  of  good  manners.  Women  treated  men  with  the 
greatest  courtesy,  showing  them  every  mark  of  outward 
respect,  and  being  much  more  polite  to  them  than  to  each 
other.  And  it  was  not  all  show,  either;  for,  in  spite  of 
the  fact  that  the  men  were  patronized  unmercifully,  the 
women  really  thought  a  great  deal  of  them,  and  often 
remarked  to  each  other  that  the  world  would  be  a  dull  and 
uninviting  place  without  them.  They  admired  their  robust 
strength  of  body,  their  brawny  arms  and  well-trained 
hands,  as  well  as  their  many  excellent  qualities  of  mind; 
and  they  never  tired  of  telling  them  in  honeyed  words 
how  necessary  they  were  to  their  happiness. 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    MAN.  33I 

"  The  women  were  very  considerate  also  in  the  matter  of 
laws.  The  rights  of  the  men  were  well  looked  after.  To  be 
sure,  they  were  not  allowed  to  vote  and  hold  office,  but  in 
their  fortunate,  happy  condition  it  was  incredible  that 
they  should  care  about  a  little  thing  like  that.  Were  they 
not  perfectly  protected  by  the  law,  and  did  they  not  have 
as  much  to  do  already  as  was  good  for  them  ?  The  women 
argued  that  if  the  men  were  given  the  right  of  suffrage  it 
would  only  be  the  cranks  who  would  avail  themselves  of  it, 
for  the  great  mass  of  the  men  were  perfectly  satisfied  with 
their  condition. 

"  A  man  was  allowed  the  right  of  dower  in  his  deceased 
wife's  estate,  and  he  could  hold  property  in  his  own  right, 
even  after  marriage.  His  wife  could  not  even  deed  away 
her  real  estate  without  his  consent.  By  this  you  see  how 
carefully  the  men  were  shielded  from  the  liability  of  com- 
ing to  want. 

"  In  matters  of  the  heart  it  was  not  considered  modest 
for  a  man  to  make  a  direct  proposal,  but  in  reality  the 
affair  was  in  his  hands,  for  no  woman  could  make  any  ad- 
vance unless  she  received  encouragement  from  the  object 
of  her  affections." 

"  How  about  the  home  ?  "  asked  the  doctor,  "  Did  man 
take  the  place  of  woman  there?  " 

"  He  did  whatever  he  was  asked  to  do  in  the  home.  You 
must  know  that  at  this  time  domestic  duties  were  quite 
different  from  what  they  formerly  were.  Men  had  not  given 
up  all  their  thought  and  time  to  handicraft  for  nothing. 
The  drudgery  had  pretty  well  disappeared  under  the  full 
play  of  the  inventive  faculties,  so  that  the  home  duties 
were  not  exacting.  What  work  there  was,  was  shared  by  the 
sexes,  each  doing  that  which  was  appropriate.  The  manage- 
ment of  the  home  was,  of  course,  in  the  hands  of  the  women." 


332  DAYBREAK. 

"  Was  there  no  department  in  which  the  men  were  mas- 
ters ?  "  inquired  the  doctor. 

"  Not  one.  They  thought  they  were  in  full  charge  in 
their  peculiar  field  of  labor,  but  here,  as  everywhere,  the 
women  dictated  their  terms  when  they  chose." 

The  doctor  was  bound  to  learn  all  he  could  about  this 
curious  state  of  things,  and  asked  again  : 

"  What  effect  did  all  this  strain  upon  the  mind  have  on 
woman's  physical  nature  ?  You  have  admitted  that  she  was 
weaker  in  body  than  man,  and  it  seems  to  me  she  must  have 
been  ill  prepared  for  the  struggle  you  have  narrated. 
From  the  experience  we  have  had  in  educating  women,  we 
believe  it  is  a  positive  injury  to  them  to  attempt  to  reach 
that  high  degree  of  culture  which  is  easily  and  safely  com- 
passed by  men.  Our  idea  is  that  nature  never  intended  that 
they  should  study  much,  for  their  minds  are  really  not 
any  stronger  than  their  bodies.  Too  much  brain  work  has 
already  ruined  the  health  of  a  good  many  girls,  and  when  we 
left  the  earth  the  reaction  against  the  higher  education  of 
woman  had  fairly  begun.  For  we  believe  that  her  mental 
faculties  can  be  developed  only  at  the  expense  of  her  phys- 
ical powers,  and  that  if  she  were  to  persist  in  such  an  abnor- 
mal cultivation  of  her  intellect  it  would  be  sure  to  result  in 
the  deterioration  of  her  offspring  and  disaster  to  the  race. 
So,  for  the  sake  of  the  generations  unborn,  we — that  is,  the 
male  men  of  the  earth — who  still  retain  our  grip  on  affairs, 
have  about  decided  to  put  a  stop  to  this  foolish  mania  among 
our  young  women.  We  will  probably  pass  laws,  setting  a 
limit  in  the  several  branches  of  study  beyond  which  girls 
shall  not  be  allowed  to  go,  either  at  school  or  privately." 

We  all  laughed  heartily  at  this  idea,  including  the  doctor 
himself,  who  continued  : 

"  Well,  what  else  can  we  do  to  stop  them  ?      Stop  them 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    MAN.  333 

we  must,  or  we  shall  soon  become  a  race  of  weaklings  and 
mental  imbeciles." 

Thorwald  had  been  getting  more  and  more  interested,  as 
I  could  see  by  his  face,  and  now  broke  out  with  : 

"  Doctor,  you  suq^rise  me.  I  have  acquired  such  a 
respect  for  your  intelligence  that  I  can  hardly  believe  you 
serious.  If  Zenith  will  excuse  me,  I  should  like  to  answer 
your  question.  Hard  study  did  not  hurt  our  young  women, 
and  it  never  hurts  anyone.  It  is  careless  living  and  a  dis- 
regard of  the  laws  of  health  that  do  the  harm.  Physical 
training  was  an  important  part  of  the  education  of  our 
women.  They  could  never  have  accomplished  what  they 
did  without  sound  bodies,  and  it  must  be  unnecessary  for 
me  to  say  that  the  more  highly  cultured  they  became  the 
more  our  race  improved.  Learning  never  made  poor 
mothers.  Ignorance  does  that.  Do  not  keep  education 
out  of  the  home.  Keep  out  folly,  low  desires,  sordid  ambi- 
tions, uncultivated  tastes,  narrow-mindedness,  envy,  strife, 
wastefulness,  inordinate  pleasures,  and  every  evil  thing  that 
comes  from  an  empty,  ignorant  mind.  Keep  out  the 
darkness ;  let  in  the  light.  It  is  not  God's  way  to  give 
capacity  and  desire  for  noble  things,  and  then  shut  the  door 
to  their  attainment." 

"  Many  thanks,  Thorwald,"  exclaimed  Zenith,  "  for  your 
good  help.  And  now.  Doctor,  will  you  ask  anything  fur- 
ther ?  " 

"  I  must  admit,"  answered  the  doctor,  "  that  your  expe- 
rience gives  you  more  knowledge  of  the  subject  than  we 
possess,  and  perhaps  we  are  wrong.  Of  course,  we  want 
that  to  come  to  pass  which  will  be  best  for  our  race.  But 
let  me  ask  if  the  gentler  sex,  as  we  call  them,  did  not  lose, 
by  such  superior  culture,  their  gentleness  and  their  charm. 
The  masculine  type  of  woman  is  not  at  all  popular  with  us." 


334  DAYBREAK. 

"  This  question,  Doctor,"  answered  Zenitii,  "  shows  that 
you  have  a  poor  conception  of  our  condition  at  that  time. 
This  great  change  in  society  had  been  gradual,  and  I  must 
remind  you  that  by  the  time  it  was  accomplished  the  world 
v/as  much  improved  in  every  way,  although,  as  we  have  seen, 
it  was  by  no  means  perfect.  In  her  treatment  of  man 
there  was  none  of  that  domineering  spirit  which  you  might 
expect;  and  the  victory  she  had  achieved  was  never  used 
harshly.  Her  reign,  if  firm,  was  mild.  And  woman  her- 
self, in  the  general  betterment  of  things,  had  improved, 
even  in  the  direction  you  mention.  Instead  of  becoming 
less  womanly,  in  her  changed  condition,  every  admirable 
quality  in  her  had  ripened  toward  perfection,  while  she  had 
thrown  off  much  that  was  disagreeable  and  unlovely  in  her 
disposition.  In  personal  appearance  the  advance  had  been 
remarkable.  Being  relieved  of  the  severe  labor  and  sordid 
cares  which  were  once  her  lot,  and  with  her  mind  set  free 
by  high  culture  and  her  artistic  tastes  developed,  nature 
asserted  itself  by  making  her  truly  a  delight  to  the  eye  and 
a  comfort  to  the  heart  of  mankind.  Whatever  charms  she 
possessed  in  her  old  life  were  now  doubled,  making  her 
indeed  a  blessing  to  the  world  and  preparing  her  for  the 
next  great  change,  which  came  with  the  advent  of  the  pres- 
ent age." 

"  In  spite  of  the  sweetness  and  beauty  surrounding  them, 
did  not  men  fret  at  the  firm  hand  that  held  them  down  ?  " 

"  At  first,  yes.  But  as  time  went  on  it  came  to  be  looked 
upon  so  naturally  that  it  was  hardly  thought  of  as  a  thing 
which  should  not  be." 

"  How  long  did  such  a  state  of  things  continue  ?  " 

"  It  continued  until  our  race  had  outgrown  all  such  trivial 
things  as  selfish  ambition  and  personal  strife,  until  our 
characters  had  ripened  for  a  higher  service  than  the  old 


THE    EMANCIPATION    OF    MAN.  335 

world  had  ever  dreamed  of,  and  until  love  reigned  in  our 
hearts,  supreme  and  unquestionable. 

"What  makes  the  situation  seem  so  strange  to  you  is 
because  it  is  so  contrary  to  your  experience.  Let  me  see  if  I 
cannot  make  it  look  more  reasonable  to  you  by  epitomizing 
our  history  on  the  subject  in  this  way  : 

"  Our  career  is  made  up  of  three  eras.  The  first  was  one 
of  brute  force,  when  man  ruled  by  strength  of  body  and 
subdued  the  world  to  our  use.  Everything  weaker  than 
himself,  even  woman,  his  natural  helper,  was  made  to  feel 
the  power  of  his  arm.  This  age  lasted  long,  but  its  rigor 
slowly  passed  away,  and  it  merged  gradually  into  the  second 
era,  which  was  one  of  mind.  Here,  too,  man  thought  to 
rule,  claiming  the  leadership  by  right  of  possession  and 
natural  endowment.  But  woman's  sharpness  of  intellect 
was  more  than  a  match  for  him  when  it  was  given  full  op- 
portunity, and  she  won,  as  we  have  seen,  after  a  long  strug- 
gle. The  third  and  present  era  is  a  spiritual  one.  In  the 
realm  of  the  spirit  men  and  women  are  equally  endowed, 
and  hence  it  is  that  in  this  age  you  find  the  two  sexes  living 
in  perfect  equality. 

"  Comparing  the  words  you  have  spoken  with  what  I  have 
read  of  our  history,  I  conclude  that  the  earth  is  now  pass- 
ing from  the  first  to  the  second  era.  The  struggle  is  on. 
Soon  your  sex  will  be  considering  the  question  of  the  eman- 
cipation of  man.  You  have  the  sincere  sympathy  of  both 
Thorwald  and  myself,  and  that  you  may  emerge  from  your 
trials  as  happily  as  ,we  have  from  ours  is  our  heartfelt 
wish." 

Zenith  closed,  and  the  doctor  was  silent. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 


AN    EXALTED    THEME. 


The  doctor  and  I  had  not  forgotten  that  Thorwald  still 
held  in  store  for  us  a  talk  on  the  most  important  theme  of 
all.  We  wondered  why  he  did  not  give  it  to  us,  as  he 
had  many  opportunities  in  those  days  of  quiet  pleasure. 
He  seemed  to  take  great  delight  in  hearing  from  us  every- 
thing we  chose  to  tell,  asking  numerous  questions  which 
showed  a  growing  knowledge  of  the  earth  and  its  inhabi- 
tants. 

It  was  the  doctor  who  finally  inquired  when  we  were 
going  to  hear  what  he  had  promised  us. 

"I  suppose  I  have  been  waiting,"  answered  Thorwald, 
"  for  you  to  ask  for  it.  I  could  listen  to  your  talk  a  great 
deal  longer  with  pleasure  and  profit.  It  is  astonishing  how 
closely  your  history  matches  ours  up  to  your  times.  The 
period  you  have  been  describing  to  me  as  that  in  which  you 
live  corresponds  with  a  similar  age  here.  It  was  a  time  of 
great  activity  and  rapid  change,  and  one  whose  records 
make  a  deep  impression  on  many  of  our  writers,  judging  from 
the  attention  they  give  to  it.  It  was  an  enviable  time  to 
live  in,  if  you  compare  it  with  the  previous  ages,  but  chiefly 
on  account  of  the  promise  it  contained  of  the  glorious  day 
to  come. 

"  Doctor,  are  you  sure  you  desire  to  hear  about  the  growth 
of  Christianity  in  this  world  and  the  blessings  it  has  brought 
us  ?" 


AN    EXALTED    THEME.  337 

"  Most  certainly,"  answered  my  companion.  "  I  want 
to  learn  all  I  can  of  your  history  and  present  condition,  and, 
as  religion  seems  to  occupy  a  chief  place  in  both,  any- 
thing you  may  say  on  the  subject  will  be  listened  to  with 
delight." 

Perhaps  Thorwald  was  a  little  disappointed  because  the 
doctor  did  not  give  a  more  personal  reason ;  but  he  failed 
to  show  it  if  he  was,  and,  after  calling  to  Zenith  to  come 
and  sit  with  us,  he  began  : 

"  P'air  shines  the  sun  on  this  fair  world.  So  shines  the 
sun  on  other  fair  worlds.  Its  piercing  rays  dart  out  in  all 
directions  from  the  great  glowing  mass,  and  as  they  fly  out- 
ward they  lose  in  brilliancy  and  intensity  every  second. 
In  eight  minutes  some  of  these  rays  are  intercepted  by  the 
earth  and  find  there  an  atmosphere  well  adapted  to  receive 
them.  In  twelve  minutes  some  strike  this  world,  and 
although  they  are  less  powerful  than  those  that  fall  on  the 
earth,  the  conditions  here  are  favorable  for  their  reception. 
At  varying  distances  from  the  center  other  rays  find  other 
planets  as  ready  to  welcome  them,  no  doubt,  as  ours  are. 

"  As  the  sun  is  in  the  physical  universe,  so  is  the  Sun  of 
righteousness  in  the  domain  of  the  spirit.  Infinite  in 
power,  wisdom,  and  love,  he  comes  wherever  there  are 
souls  to  save,  shedding  light  in  every  dark  spot,  bringing 
life  and  hope  and  comfort,  and  lifting  men  out  of  the  dark- 
ness of  sin  up  to  a  condition  of  peace  and  happiness. 
Many  ages  ago  he  came  to  this  planet,  and  started  into  life 
those  forces  which  have  brought  us  to  our  present  state. 
Then  he  came  to  the  earth,  and  you  are  at  this  time  begin- 
ning to  feel  more  intensely  the  impulse  of  his  mission." 

"  Your  illustration  is  a  forcible  one,"  said  the  doctor,  as 
Thorwald  paused  a  moment,  "  and  weakens  my  former  posi- 
tion, which  would  make  it  necessary  for  me  to  believe  that 

22 


S3^  DAYBREAK. 

all  the  rays  of  the  sun,  except  the  few  that  fall  on  Mars  and 
the  earth,  are  lost.  It  seems  to  me  now  quite  reasonable 
that  some  do  their  beneficent  work  on  other  planets  also." 

"Yes,"  answered  Thorwald,  "whenever  they  are  ready 
to  receive  them.  And  now  I  hope  to  lead  you  to  see  that 
the  same  intelligence  that  made  the  sun  and  gave  to  its 
rays  such  power  has  been  present  as  a  personal  force  in 
this  world,  molding  it  to  his  use  and  raising  up  a  people 
here  for  his  service  and  glory. 

"  In  the  perfect  plan  of  that  omniscient  being  the  advent 
of  the  Savior  occurred  at  the  most  opportune  moment. 
Deep  in  the  heart  of  one  nation,  firmly  grounded  in  their 
nature  by  ages  of  discipline  and  suffering,  lay  the  belief  in 
one  only  God.  The  other  nations  of  the  world,  surfeited 
with  sinful  pleasure  and  worn  out  with  a  vain  pursuit  of 
happiness,  were  ready  to  abandon  the  gods  of  their  imagi- 
nations. Some  lofty  souls  among  them,  following  intently 
every  prompting  of  their  better  nature,  had  developed  high 
characters,  while  of  God's  peculiar  people  many  pure  hearts 
waited,  with  joyful  expectancy,  the  coming  of  the  promised 
Savior. 

"  He  came,  the  lowly,  patient  one,  and,  although  the 
world  was  made  by  him,  it  knew  him  not.  The  greatest 
event  in  the  history  of  the  globe  passed  almost  without 
notice;  but  the  seed  was  planted,  and  in  God's  own  time 
the  growth  began,  which  has  filled  our  happy  world  with 
the  perfect  flower  of  Christianity. 

"  The  religion  which  Jesus  taught  aimed  to  save  the 
race.  It  was  universal,  not  only  as  adapted  to  all  nations, 
but  as  fitted  to  regenerate  and  perfect  the  whole  nature  of 
man — body,  mind,  and  soul.  It  would  take  me  too  long  to 
tell  all  the  changes  it  wrought.  It  found  the  heart  hard 
and  unfeeling,  and  made   it  tender  and  loving.     It  found 


AN    EXALTED    THEME.  339 

men  filled  with  every  evil  passion  and  almost  without  a 
desire  to  be  better,  and  it  gave  them  a  longing  to  be  free 
from  sin  and  pure  in  heart.  It  found  the  race  in  darkness 
and  despair,  and  brought  them  hope  and  light  and  comfort. 
Above  all,  it  attacked  the  demon  of  selfishness  and  gave 
men  the  promise  that  in  time  they  should  be  entirely  free 
from  its  power. 

"  Slowly  the  truths  of  Christianity  spread.  The  mission- 
ary spirit  was  born  and  the  gospel  was  carried  to  remote 
lands.  It  was  ever  God's  way  to  work  through  the  agency 
of  his  creatures,  whether  these  be  brute  forces  or  intelli- 
gent beings.  And  so  through  imperfect  men  the  perfect 
rule  of  life  made  feeble  progress.  But  as  it  was  the  work 
of  the  Spirit,  there  was  never  any  danger,  even  in  the 
darkest  ages,  that  the  gospel  would  not  triumph  over  all  the 
sin  and  degradation  of  the  world,  and  lift  men  to  a  higher 
plane. 

"  For  a  long  period  the  truth  lay  buried  beneath  igno- 
rance and  superstition.  Then  came  an  awakening,  and 
men,  with  their  minds  more  enlightened  and  their  con- 
sciences quickened,  began  to  catch  something  of  the  true 
spirit  of  the  gospel.  Christianity  now  became  a  dominant 
power.  Under  its  benign  sway  civilization  advanced,  intel- 
ligence spread,  and  Christian  nations  outstripped  all  others 
and  extended  their  power  to  every  part  of  the  globe. 

"  Soon  the  ameliorating  influences  of  the  gospel  were 
felt  on  every  hand.  Government  began  to  be  administered 
with  more  regard  for  the  interest  of  the  governed,  and  men 
came  to  receive  consideration  simply  because  they  were 
men.  All  the  aggravated  forms  of  oppression  ceased  under 
the  newborn  spirit  of  human  brotherhood,  a  sentiment 
brought  into  the  world  by  the  founder  of  Christianity. 

"  This  brings  us,  my  friends,  up   to  that  intense  age  of 


34°  DAYBREAK. 

which  I  have  spoken  before,  and  which  you  say  you  recog- 
nize as  that  corresponding  with  the  time  in  which  you  are 
living  on  the  earth.  Let  me  state  briefly  the  condition  of 
some  of  our  affairs  of  that  period. 

"  The  industrial  world  was  in  a  ferment,  as  we  have 
seen,  and  it  was  only  in  a  general  and  impersonal  way  that 
the  Christian  religion  shed  its  influence  on  the  majority  of 
the  actors  in  that  drama.  Individuals,  among  both  em- 
ployers and  workmen,  had  good  impulses  and  indulged  them 
as  much  as  they  could,  and  I  am  inclined  to  think  this  class 
was  larger  than  most  of  our  writers  admit.  But  we  read 
that  the  greater  part  were  moved  chiefly  by  motives  of  self- 
interest.  Still,  Christianity  was  a  growing  force  among 
them,  and  they  could  not  entirely  escape  its  influence. 
They  were  born  under  its  elevating  power,  and,  even  if  they 
did  not  acknowledge  its  sway,  they  were  quite  different  men 
from  those  who  lived  before  Jesus  began  to  preach  the  law 
of  love.  This  remark  will  apply  to  all  the  people  of  that 
day  who  were  born  under  Christian  skies,  and  yet  acknowl- 
edged no  personal  allegiance  to  the  Savior.  They  were  the 
unconscious  heirs  of  a  priceless  inheritance." 

"  I  just  want  to  say,  Thorwald,"  the  doctor  interrupted, 
"  that  I  can  accept  that  idea  fully  now,  with  respect  to  the 
people  of  the  earth,  though  at  one  time  I  should  not  have 
been  willing  to  do  so." 

Thorwald  smiled  his  answer,  and  without  further  reply 
continued  : 

"  Let  us  look  at  the  business  situation.  National  and 
local  governments  had  begun  to  extend  their  powers  beyond 
what  had  before  been  considered  legitimate.  With  one 
excuse  or  another  they  had  taken  out  of  private  hands  many 
branches  of  business,  and  there  was  a  strong  tendency  toward 
a  continuance  of  the  policy.      There  was  no  difference  in 


AN    EXALTED    THEME.  34I 

principle  between  carrying  the  mails  and  carrying  freight 
and  passengers,  or  between  giving  the  people  cheap 
water  in  their  houses  and  furnishing  them  with  cheap 
coal. 

"  It  was  acknowledged  that  there  were  certain  things 
which  the  city  or  state  could  do  better  than  private  enter- 
prise, and  the  difficulty  was  to  decide  where  to  draw  the 
line.  While  this  uncertainty  existed  in  the  minds  of  most 
people,  there  was  a  small  but  aggressive  party  who  were  in 
favor  of  not  drawing  the  line  at  all,  but  of  putting  every- 
thing into  the  hands  of  the  government.  They  would  have 
had  the  people,  in  their  corporate  capacity  as  a  nation,  raise 
and  distribute  the  products  of  the  soil,  do  all  the  manu- 
facturing and  dispose  of  the  goods  to  consumers,  conduct 
all  the  trades  and  professions,  and,  in  fact,  carry  on  every 
kind  of  business  necessary  to  the  well-being  of  society." 

Of  course,  this  woke  up  the  doctor,  whose  practical  mind 
could  see  nothing  attractive  in  such  an  arrangement  as  that, 
and  he  was  moved  to  say  : 

"  I  trust,  Thorwald,  that  your  ancestors  did  not  adopt 
that  crazy  scheme  as  an  experimental  step  in  their  develop- 
ment. But  I  beg  your  pardon  for  using  such  vigorous  lan- 
guage without  knowing  whether  they  did  or  not." 

Thorwald  smiled,  as  he  answered  : 

"  You  are  safe,  Doctor.  From  actual  experience  we  can- 
not tell  what  the  result  of  such  a  trial  would  be,  for  the 
vast  majority  of  the  writers,  and  the  people  too,  of  the 
period  were  opposed  to  the  plan,  and  no  doubt  with  good 
reason. 

"  But  I  do  not  wonder  that  this  idea  had  a  fascination  for 
some  right-minded  people,  in  the  promise  it  gave  of  doing 
away  with  the  evils  arising  from  competition,  to  which  I 
have  before  referred." 


342  DAYBREAK. 

Thonvald  paused  here,  as  if  to  invite  one  of  us  to  speak, 
if  he  wanted  to  do  so.     I  accepted,  by  saying  : 

"  I  wish  you  would  fell  us  a  little  more  on  that  subject. 
Competition  is  said  to  be  the  life  of  trade  with  us,  an 
accepted  principle  of  honest  business.  And  yet  you  speak 
of  it  as  something  that  should  be  done  away  with." 

"  If  you  could  know,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  how  repug- 
nant the  idea  is  to  us  of  the  present  day,  you  would  under- 
stand how  truly  you  have  voiced  my  feelings." 

"  I  have  no  doubt,"  I  said,  "  that  your  experience  has 
taught  you  much  on  the  subject  that  we  do  not  know,  but 
this  is  the  way  it  looks  from  our  standpoint :  There  is  born 
in  us  a  passion  for  getting  that  which  belongs  to  others,  or 
that  which  others  are  trying  to  get.  In  some  of  us  this 
Instinct  is  developed  more  than  in  others,  and  some  are 
unprincipled  enough  to  indulge  it  unjustly ;  but  let  me  ask 
you  if  it  is  wrong  to  follow  the  leadings  of  such  a  desire 
if  we  are  strictly  honest  in  all  our  dealings." 

"  We  might  differ  over  the  meaning  of  the  phrase 
*  strictly  honest,'  but  I  will  answer  your  question  by  saying 
it  is  certainly  wrong." 

"  But  it  seems  to  be  a  part  of  our  very  nature." 

"  Do  you  offer  that  as  a  reason  for  its  being  right  ?  I 
never  heard  you  claim  that  human  nature  was  perfect,"  said 
Thonvald. 

"Then,"  I  returned,  "  in  our  present  state,  with  which 
you  are  now  pretty  well  acquainted,  is  it  not  possible  to 
carry  the  principles  of  Christianity  into  business  ?  " 

"  To  answer  that  as  I  should  be  obliged  to  do  would  make 
me  appear  to  you  too  arbitrary,  and  so  perhaps  I  had  better 
let  you  find  your  own  answer  in  the  questions  which  I  will 
ask  you.  Is  not  unselfishness  one  of  the  first  principles  of 
Christianity  ?     Now,  the  very  essence  of  competition  is  a 


AN    EXALTED    THE.ME,  343 

regard  for  self-interest,  with  no  room  for  thought  about  the 
interests  of  others.  In  an  ideal  state  of  society  the  rules 
of  life  given  by  Jesus  are  fully  obeyed.  In  such  a  state, 
would  a  transaction  be  right  where  each  person  was  trying 
to  do  what  was  best  for  himself,  although  it  might  be  to  the 
damage  or  loss  of  another  ?  It  might  be  called  honest  to 
own  slaves,  and  probably  in  the  history  of  the  earth  a  great 
many  sincere  Christian  people  have  owned  them,  but  you 
have  now  reached  that  condition,  I  think,  where  you  can 
see  it  is  wrong.  So  your  way  of  doing  business  may  be 
honest,  but  in  our  more  ideal  state  we  see  that  it  is  not 
right.  Our  remote  ancestors,  through  the  various  stages  of 
our  development,  did  a  thousand  things  with  clear  con- 
sciences which  we  could  not  do  now.  I  understand  your 
situation  perfectly,  and  am  sure  your  race  will  outgrow  its 
imperfections." 

I  thanked  Thorwald  for  his  faith  in  us,  and  he  resumed 
his  narrative. 

"In  the  age  of  Avhich  I  am  speaking,"  he  said,  "the 
church  was  taking  a  prominent  place  in  the  world,  but  had 
not  assumed  the  leading  j^osition  which  it  afterward  reached. 
Many  nations  were  still  without  the  light  of  the  gospel, 
and  even  in  nominal  Christian  lands  the  actual  supporters 
of  the  church  were  in  the  minority.  In  the  midst  of  much 
evil  and  many  discouragements  the  church  was  trying  to 
regenerate  society,  but  it  had  a  difficult  task,  partly  on 
account  of  the  great  perversity  of  the  human  heart,  and 
partly  because  the  church  itself  was  not  free  from  the 
imperfections  of  the  age.  Its  members  represented  all 
shades  of  spirituality,  the  great  majority  of  them  having 
but  a  faint  appreciation  of  the  glorious  cause  in  which 
they  had  enlisted.  They  called  themselves  soldiers  of  the 
cross,  but  were  so  burdened  with  the  ordinary  but   more 


344  DAYBREAK. 

pressing  duties  and  occupations  of  life  thiat  tliey  never 
dreamed  of  the  grandeur  of  the  service,  nor  of  the  bril- 
liant deeds  of  which  tlie  church  was  soon  to  show  itself 
capable. 

"  One  chief  hindrance  to  the  growth  of  the  church  and 
to  the  spread  of  its  influence  was  the  spirit  of  division 
within  itself.  Theoretically,  all  believers,  the  world  over, 
were  one  body,  or  church,  but  in  point  of  fact  there  were 
many  churches,  and  in  some  particulars  they  were  quite 
sharply  opposed  to  each  other.  This  evil  was  in  full  force 
in  that  age,  but  there  were  signs  in  the  air  that  it  was  not 
to  remain  forever  a  stumbling-block  to  the  faith  of  the 
world." 

"  We  are  afflicted  in  the  same  way,"  said  I,  "  and  some 
of  us  are  hopeful  enough  to  look  forward  to  a  really  united 
church.  But  many  think  it  is  a  part  of  our  nature  to  differ, 
and  are  not  able  to  see  how  all  can  ever  come  to  think 
alike.  They  say  that  if  by  a  miracle  all  should  be  brought 
into  one  church,  and  then  left  to  their  own  inclinations,  in 
a  short  time  there  would  be  as  many  sects  as  there  are 
now." 

"  And  so  there  would,"  returned  Thorwald,  "  with  your 
present  ways.  Your  imperfect  nature  must  change  under 
the  softening  influence  of  the  gospel.  The  differences 
that  cause  such  trouble  come  from  each  individual's  selfish 
regard  for  his  own  opinion.  All  must  learn  not  only  to 
respect  but  to  embrace  the  opinions  of  each  other  when 
they  are  right  opinions.  Two  streams  may  run  in  parallel 
channels  forever  if  each  persists  in  following  strictly  its 
own  course.  If  one  turns  toward  the  other  and  the  other 
turns  away,  they  will  still  be  kept  apart;  but  let  each 
turn  toward  the  other,  and  how  quickly  they  come  to- 
gether." 


AN    EXALTED    THEME.  345 

I  told  Thorwald  I  could  apply  his  illustration  to  our 
condition  and  we  would  tr}'  to  profit  by  it. 

"One  of  the  promising  features  of  the  religious  situa- 
tion," he  continued,  "was  the  good  start  the  church  had 
made  in  missionary  work.  In  the  zeal  with  which  this  was 
taken  up  it  was  quite  a  new  departure  for  the  church,  for 
not  long  before  this  time  good  men  believed  that  if  God 
intended  to  save  the  heathen  he  would  do  it  without  any 
help  from  man.  But  now  success  had  come  in  the  work  in 
sufficient  measure  to  greatly  encourage  the  faithful  souls 
engaged  in  it. 

"  When  I  speak  of  zeal,  however,  you  must  understand 
that  this  quality  was  confined  to  a  few  people.  Nearly  all 
were  only  half-hearted  Christians  at  the  best,  doing  some- 
thing, to  be  sure,  but  not  at  all  alive  to  the  grand  opportu- 
nity of  bringing  the  world  to  the  feet  of  the  Savior.  Only 
here  and  there  was  one  found  who  was  ready  to  give  himself 
unselfishly  to  the  work,  and  the  amount  of  money  given  to 
advance  the  cause  of  Christ,  at  home  and  abroad,  was 
small  indeed  compared  to  that  spent  in  luxurious  living 
and  hurtful  indulgences. 

"  At  the  same  time,  it  was  an  age  of  progress.  The 
ordinary  span  of  life  was  long  enough  to  show  improvement 
in  many  ways,  and  men,  seeing  the  rapid  advancement  the 
world  was  making,  took  courage  and  looked  forward  more 
confidently  for  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day.  Religion  was 
beginning  to  be  more  of  an  every-day  matter,  and  Christians 
were  coming  to  a  faint  realization  of  the  real  value  of  the 
gospel  in  its  adaptation  to  all  the  needs  of  men.  Care  for 
the  body,  better  ways  of  living,  and  right  conduct  toward 
others  were  all  taught,  as  well  as  duty  to  God,  and  society 
began  to  feel  the  benefit  of  such  sensible  teaching." 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

VANQUISHED    AGAIN    BY    A    VOICE. 

We  all  hoped  Mona's  affliction  would  prove  temporary, 
but  after  a  number  of  days  had  passed,  and  no  improvement 
appeared,  Thorwald  had  an  expert  anatomist  come  to  the 
house  and  make  an  examination  of  the  organs  of  her 
throat.  Although  this  was  a  new  way  in  which  to  apply  his 
skill,  as  the  Martians  of  that  era  were  all  physically  per- 
fect, he  thought  he  might  be  able  to  discover  the  cause  of 
the  trouble.  The  result  of  this  experiment  was  somewhat 
reassuring,  for  our  scientist  told  us  there  was  no  defect  of 
organ  or  injury  to  any  part,  closing  his  report  with  the 
remark  that  the  case  presented  the  greatest  mystery  of  the 
kind  he  had  ever  encountered.  My  companion,  the  doctor, 
now  expressed  his  opinion,  which  coincided  with  my  own. 
This  was,  that  Mona's  trouble  was  occasioned  by  the  shock 
to  her  nervous  system  when  she  was  plunged  into  the  water, 
an  element  which  she  so  much  dreaded.  Our  good  friends, 
including  the  expert,  were  utterly  unable  to  understand  the 
meaning  of  this  .theory.    The  remark  that  Zenith  made  was  : 

"  Why,  but  for  our  friend,  and  others  who  pry  into  these 
things  for  us,  we  would  never  know  we  had  any  nerves." 

"  Happy  will  our  race  be,"  responded  the  doctor,  "  when 
it  arrives  at  the  same  blissful  ignorance." 

"  Well,"  continued  Zenith,  "  if  your  opinion  is  the  cor- 
rect one,  what  have  we  to  hope  for  in  Mona's  case  ?  " 


VANQUISHED    AGAIN    BY    A    VOICE.  347 

"Unfortunately,"  answered  the  doctor,  "we  have  no 
experience  to  teach  us  what  to  expect.  We  can  only  hope 
with  you  that  she  may  speedily  recover  her  voice,  which  has 
seemed  to  form  such  a  great  part  of  her,  and  has  given  us  all 
so  much  delight." 

Perhaps  it  was  imagination,  but  it  seemed  to  me  that 
Mona's  behavior  toward  me  was  more  affectionate  than  it 
had  formerly  been.  She  had  told  me  before,  to  be  sure, 
that  she  had  loved  me  with  all  her  heart,  but  in  these  latter 
days  she  appeared  to  seek  my  society  more  and  to  show 
other  indications  that  her  love  was  assuming  more  of  the 
personal  element  for  which  I  had  once  so  assiduously  sought. 
But  how  was  it  with  myself  ?  This  question  forced  itself 
on  me,  one  day,  and  I  was  a  little  startled  to  find  that  an 
answer  did  not  spring  up  spontaneously.  Was  it  possible 
that  my  love  was  becoming  cold  ?  I  would  not  admit  it. 
Just  as  the  poor  girl  had  lost  her  chief  attraction,  should  I 
turn  from  her  and  forget  all  my  former  professions  ?  On 
the  first  suspicion  that  such  might  possibly  be  my  desire,  I 
said  it  was  a  wicked  thought  and  I  should  never  let  it  be 
true.  But  even  if  I  could  not  force  my  heart  to  remain 
faithful,  no  one  should  ever  know  it  but  myself. 

A  little  more  time  elapsed  and  I  discovered  that,  in  spite 
of  my  brave  resolutions,  Mona,  silent,  was  filling  less  and 
less  of  my  thoughts,  and  that  I  was  living  on  the  precious 
memory  of  her  lost  voice.  But  this  discovery  did  not  shake 
my  determination  ever  to  be  to  Mona  herself  a  true  and 
faithful  lover. 

At  this  juncture  I  was  sitting  alone,  one  morning,  going 
over  in  my  mind  the  strange  vicissitudes  of  my  love  affair, 
when,  in  a  far-distant  part  of  the  house,  I  heard  a  sound 
which  thrilled  me.  I  stopped  all  motion  and  listened,  my 
heart,  however,  trembling  with  the  fear  of    a    disappoint- 


348  DAYBREAK. 

merit.  The  music,  for  it  was  sweet  music  to  me,  came 
nearer,  and  now  I  could  not  be  mistaken.  What  joy  filled 
my  heart !  How  impossible  to  forget  that  voice  !  I  sat 
still  and  let  it  come.  She  evidently  knew  where  I  was  and 
was  coming  to  find  me,  pouring  forth  her  heart  in  the  way 
she  knew  I  adored.  Where  now  were  my  fears  that  my 
heart  was  growing  cold  toward  her  ?  Could  it  be  possible 
that  I  had  ever  doubted  my  affection  for  her  since  I  first 
heard  her  sing  ?  Nearer  it  comes,  filling  my  ears  now  with 
its  familiar  melody,  a  song  without  words  but  full  of  mean- 
ing for  one  who  hears  aright.  She  is  guided  true  by  the 
lamp  of  love  and  is  now  in  the  next  room.  I  cannot  wait, 
but  interrupt  her  song  with  this  cry  : 

"  Come  to  me,  my  love,  come  quickly.  I  know  your 
voice  and  the  meaning  of  your  song,  and  my  heart  re- 
sponds to  yours." 

The  strain  continues,  and  soon  a  form  appears  in  the 
doorway.  I  spring  from  my  seat  and  start  to  meet  it,  but 
fall  back  almost  immediately  in  confusion. 

''  Oh,  Avis,"  I  exclaimed  with  vexation,  "  I  thought  you 
were  Mona  again.  I  supposed  you  were  on  the  other  side 
of  the  world." 

"  I  was,  but  I  have  come  back  to  sing  for  you.  I  heard 
poor  Mona  had  lost  her  voice  and  I  wanted  to  do  what  I 
could  to  fill  her  place.  But  I  fear  you  are  not  pleased  with 
me." 

"  My  dear  friend,"  I  replied,  "  I  beg  your  pardon  for 
the  abrupt  manner  in  which  I  received  you.  I  thought 
Mona  had  suddenly  recovered  her  voice  and  was  coming  in 
the  fullness  of  her  joy  to  tell  me  about  it,  and  you  can 
imagine  my  disappointment  when  I  discovered  my  mistake. 
But  now  I  assure  you  I  am  glad  to  have  your  sympathy  and 
delighted  to  know  that  you  are  to  be  near  me.     Please  go 


VANQUISHED    AGAIN    BY    A    VOICE.  349 

on  with  the  song  which  I  so  rudely  interrupted,  and  let  me 
hear  your  voice  as  often  as  possible.  It  is  exceedingly 
fortunate  for  me  to  have  you  here  while  Mona  is  recover- 
ing. Will  you  stay  till  she  can  sing  again,  or  do  you  think 
it  is  too  selfish  in  me  to  make  such  a  request  ?  " 

Instead  of  answering  me.  Avis  began  to  sing  again,  and 
in  a  twinkling  I  had  forgotten  my  question  and  everything 
else  in  the  enjoyment  of  the  moment. 

I  now  wanted  little  to  make  me  supremely  happy.  There 
was  Mona  herself,  with  her  exquisite  beauty  and  friendly 
manner,  and  there  was  Mona's  voice  in  the  mouth  of  one 
who  liked  me  enough  to  go  half  around  the  world  to  enter- 
tain me.  And,  if  the  truth  must  be  told,  my  heart  inclined 
more  and  more  toward  the  voice.  This  was  a  startling 
truth  indeed  when  it  first  fell  upon  me,  and  I  fully  deter- 
mined that  no  one  else  should  know  it.  Mona  should  never 
discover  that  I  loved  her  less  because  she  could  not  sing, 
and  Avis  should  never  know  that  her  marvelous  song  was 
beginning  to  make  the  singer  dear  to  me. 

Whenever  I  found  myself  alone  I  could  think  of  nothing 
but  this  perplexing  subject.  As  I  dwelt  upon  my  situation, 
I  told  myself  I  must  be  careful,  and  avoid  getting  into 
trouble.  Mona  was  becoming  more  and  more  tender  toward 
me  every  day,  and  now  Avis  had  come,  unconsciously  storm- 
ing the  seat  of  my  affections  with  Mona's  own  voice.  I  felt 
that  I  was  in  some  danger  of  embarrassing  myself  before  the 
rest  of  my  friends,  and  it  behooved  me  to  simplify  mat- 
ters if  possible. 

First,  I  must  find  out  to  a  certainty  just  how  I  stood  with 
Mona.  Notwithstanding  the  admission  which  I  had  been 
forced  to  make  to  myself,  I  felt  that  it  must  be  right  for  me 
to  continue  to  devote  myself  to  Mona,  even  if  my  heart  did 
not  bound  toward  her  as  in  the  days  of  my  exuberant  love.      I 


35°  DAYBREAK, 

should  indeed  be  unworthy  of  her  to  give  her  up  now.  When 
I  considered  my  former  depth  of  feeling,  I  fairly  despised 
myself  for  entertaining  for  a  moment  the  possibility  of  her 
becoming  less  dear  to  me.  But,  for  all  that,  I  knew  deep 
in  my  heart  that  the  charm  which  had  held  me  to  her  was 
gone,  and  I  knew  of  no  way  to  arrest  and  bring  back  my 
wandering  affections. 

Still,  it  could  not  be  right  for  me  to  let  her  know  I  was 
changing.  What  would  she  think  of  me,  and  what  opinion 
would  Thorwald  and  Zenith  have  ?  I  must  own  that  the 
latter  consideration  had  a  good  deal  of  force  with  me,  for  I 
did  not  want  to  lower  myself  and  our  whole  race  in  their 
eyes. 

So  I  prepared  the  form  of  speech  with  which  to  address 
Mona  again  on  the  old  subject.  It  seemed  strange  that  she 
should  begin  to  grow  fond  of  me  just  as  soon  as  my  love 
began  to  cool,  and  I  determined  with  all  my  will  never  to 
let  her  know  the  state  of  my  heart. 

Not  long  after  I  had  made  this  resolution,  I  was  surprised 
to  have  the  doctor  tell  me  he  was  sorry  to  see  I  was  not  so 
partial  to  Mona's  society  since  she  had  lost  her  voice.  I 
do  not  remember  what  I  said  to  him  in  reply,  but  I  know 
his  remark  set  me  thinking  hard.  Perhaps  other  observers 
had  noticed  the  same  thing  and  were  too  considerate 
of  my  feelings  to  speak  of  it.  Surely,  I  must  have  matters 
put  upon  a  better  footing  at  once. 

As  for  Mona,  she  was  never  happier  in  her  life,  if  we 
could  judge  from  her  actions.  She  had  now  learned  to  talk 
so  well  in  her  mute  language  that  we  all  found  conversation 
with  her  comparatively  easy.  Her  fascinating  manners 
made  her  interesting  always,  and  in  spite  of  her  great  loss 
she  was  still  an  important  part  of  the  life  of  the  house.  I 
argued  to  myself  that  my  heart  must  be  hard  indeed  if  I 


VANQUISHED    AGAIN    BY    A    VOICE.  35 1 

could  not  continue  to  love  her.  To  me  her  behavior  was 
characterized  by  such  a  peculiar  sweetness  that  I  knew  she 
was  ready,  on  a  word  from  me,  to  recall  some  of  the  harsh 
things  she  had  said  and  to  own  a  love  quite  different  in 
kind  from  her  regard  for  others. 

The  opportunity  soon  came  to  speak  to  her,  and  I  em- 
braced it. 

"  Mona,"  I  said,  "  I  want  to  make  a  little  speech  to  you. 
First,  let  me  ask  you  if  I  can  introduce  a  subject  on  svhich 
you  have  more  than  once  stopped  my  mouth.  Perhaps  you 
know  what  I  mean." 

"  Oh,  yes,"  she  replied,  "  I  remember  it  very  well,  and 
you  may  talk  all  you  please  about  it  now.  You  must  for- 
give me  if  I  was  unkind  before  and  used  my  voice  to  vex 
you.  But  I  am  surprised  to  have  you  bring  up  this 
topic." 

"Why?" 

"  Because  I  thought  from  your  manner  that  you  did  not 
love  me  as  you  used  to." 

By  this  time  the  speech  that  I  had  prepared  was  all  out 
of  my  head,  and  I  was  wondering  if  it  were  possible  that 
I  had  lost  so  much  of  my  affection  for  Mona  that  she  had 
discovered  it  by  a  change  in  my  manner.  In  reply  to  her 
remark  I  said  : 

"  But  such  a  thought  has  not  made  you  unhappy,  Mona, 
if  I  may  judge  from  your  behavior.  I  have  never  seen  you 
more  cheerful  and  full  of  life." 

"  No,"  she  responded,  "  I  think  it  has  had  the  contrary 
effect.  I  was  rather  relieved  to  find  you  were  recovering 
from  your  foolishness,  and  I  thought  we  would  now  be  able 
to  live  in  peace,  treating  each  other  in  a  kind  and  sensible 
manner.  I  am  disappointed  to  find  that  you  are  still  cling- 
ing to  the  old  idea,  but  I  will  not  object  to  your  saying  all 


352  DAYBREAK. 

you  please  on  the  subject,  for  I  have  my  own  reasons  now 
for  being  gracious  to  you." 

"  That's  the  very  thing  I  want  to  ask  you  about,  Mona. 
I  have  noticed  your  great  kindness  of  late,  and  have  sup- 
posed it  came  from  the  fact  that  you  were  learning  to 
love  me  in  my  way;  that  is,  somewhat  to  the  exclusion  of 
others.     Isn't  it  that  ?" 

"  I  think  you  will  not  be  pained  when  I  say  you  have  had 
a  wrong  impression." 

"  Why  do  you  think  such  a  discovery  will  not  pain 
me  ?" 

"  Because  I  am  sure  you  do  not  care  for  me  now  in  the  same 
way  as  before.  It  was  my  voice  that  inthralled  you.  In  all 
this  interview  you  have  not  once  said  you  love  me,  and  you 
know  at  one  time  you  could  say  nothing  else.  But  let  me 
tell  you  why  I  have  shown  an  extra  tenderness  toward  you 
recently.  It  was  because  I  feared  you  would  think  I  blamed 
you  for  my  misfortune.  I  wanted  to  let  you  know  I  had 
not  the  least  unkind  feeling  and  that,  in  spite  of  the  loss 
of  my  voice,  I  was  as  happy  and  contented  as  ever." 

"  Well,  after  all,  you  do  love  me  a  little,  do  you  not, 
Mona  ?  ' ' 

"  Why,  of  course  I  do,  just  as  much  as  ever.  And  now 
let  us  go  right  along  and  be  nice  to  each  other.  We  will 
love  each  other  and  love  everybody  else  just  the  same,  and 
you  must  promise  not  to  look  disturbed  any  more  when  I 
am  talking  with  Foedric ;  but  you  have  been  very  good 
about  that  of  late." 

"  I  will  promise,"  I  answered  ;  "  but  what  will  you  do  if 
you  find  I  am  loving  another  person  more  than  you  ?  ' ' 

"  Oh,  I  cannot  understand  what  you  mean  by  loving 
more  and  loving  less.  It  is  a  strange  idea  to  me,  and  I 
hope  I  shall  never  get  accustomed  to  it.     My  way  is  to 


VANQUISHED    AGAIN    BY    A    VOICE.  353 

love  everybody  with  all  my  heart,  and  that's  an  end  of  it. 
Don't  you  see  in  that  way  I  escape  all  the  worry  and  vexa- 
tion which  you  seem  to  have  in  the  matter  ?  As  to  your 
loving  another,  you  will  pardon  me  if  I  say  it  will  be  a 
great  relief  to  me  for  you  to  do  so.  I  have  not  been  used 
to  being  the  sole  recipient  of  any  person's  affection,  and  I 
shall  rejoice  to  be  freed  from  the  responsibility.  If  you 
have  thought  me  happy  heretofore,  you  will  now  be  aston- 
ished at  my  sprightliness.  I  suppose  you  refer  to  Antonia. 
She  is  a  lovely  girl,  and " 

"Allow  me,"  I  interrupted ;  but  before  I  could  goon 
with  my  denial  that  voice  again  fell  on  my  ears — so  dis- 
tant and  low  that  I  held  my  breath  to  listen.  At  first 
Mona  did  not  hear  it,  but  it  soon  increased  in  volume ;  and 
now,  as  the  sweet  sounds  came  pouring  upon  us,  my  com- 
panion saw  how  I  was  affected,  and  said  in  her  sign  lan- 
guage : 

"  Oh,  I  was  mistaken.     Antonia  is  not  the  one." 

My  heart  was  now  all  aflame,  and,  with  Mona  by  my  side 
and  gazing  into  my  glowing  face,  I  almost  forgot  her  pres- 
ence in  the  approach  of  one  whose  song  had  such  power. 
Was  she  old  ?  Music  like  that  is  never  old.  Why  should  not 
my  heart  go  out  to  her  ?  She  was  still  beautiful  and  not  so 
old  as  I  had  supposed.  And  then,  of  course,  people  in  that 
advanced  condition,  did  not  wear  out  in  a  few  years  as  they 
did  on  the  earth.  As  for  her  size,  she  was  rather  small  for 
a  Martian,  and  I,  living  under  new  conditions,  would  cer- 
tainly take  a  start  before  many  days,  and  no  doubt  become 
as  large  as  Foedric,  almost. 

These  ingenuous  sentiments  came  to  me  with  the  sweet 
accents  of  that  melodious  song,  and  when  Avis  appeared 
I   had  great   difficulty  to  keep  from  making  some  foolish 
exhibition  of  my  feelings. 
23 


354  DAYBREAK. 

At  my  next  sober  moment,  that  is,  when  I  was  by  myself, 
and  out  of  hearing  of  that  intoxicating  music,  it  was  very 
easy  for  me  to  realize  my  ridiculous  situation,  but  not  so 
easy  to  tell  how  I  was  to  escape  from  it.  As  to  my  rela- 
tions with  Mona  herself,  I  was  greatly  relieved  by  our  last 
conversation.  I  certainly  need  no  longer  feel  obliged  to 
tie  my  vagrant  heart  to  her.  She  would  not  miss  it  if  it 
never  once  showed  itself  again,  but  how  could  I  hope  to 
preserve  any  sort  of  character  in  the  eyes  of  my  other 
friends  ?  What  sport  the  doctor  would  make  of  me  if  he 
knew  how  I  felt  toward  Avis.  He  little  thought  that  this  was 
the  daughter  of  Mars  most  likely  to  bring  me  to  my  knees. 

And  the  doctor  would  have  good  reason  for  whatever 
enjoyment  he  might  have  at  my  expense,  for  I  felt  at  first  that 
I  did  not  deserve  any  sympathy.  When  away  from  the  pow- 
erful influence  of  that  voice  I  was  myself,  and  could  see 
everything  in  its  tme  perspective,  but  it  is  difificult  to 
describe  the  change  that  came  over  me  as  soon  as  those 
entrancing  notes  fell  upon  my  ear.  The  music  sent  great 
waves  of  emotion  through  my  being,  the  storm  center  gen- 
erally appearing  to  be  the  seat  of  my  affections.  My  heart 
would  beat  fast,  going  out  toward  the  singer  in  sympathy 
and  love.  The  doubts  of  propriety  belonging  to  my  sane 
moments — hesitation,  argument,  uncertainty — all  went  in  a 
flash,  and  I  was  almost  ready  to  throw  myself  before  her 
and  proclaim  my  love  without  shame  or  embarrassment. 
At  such  times  I  felt  that  I  could  hold  my  head  up  in  view 
of  all  the  inhabitants  of  Mars  and  prove  to  them  that  I 
was  not  fickle,  but  as  steadfast  as  constancy  itself  in  follow- 
ing always  one  and  the  same  attraction.  Was  I  not  as  true 
to  the  best  that  was  in  me,  when  my  heart  was  ravished  by 
the  voice  of  Avis,  as  I  was  when  I  had  loved  Mona  so  ten- 
derly for  the  same  sweet  charm  ? 


VANQUISHED    AGAIN    BY    A    VOICE.  355 

As  day  followed  day  in  this  delightful  home,  it  was  the 
society  of  Avis  which  I  continually  sought,  and  I  was  never 
quite  happy  except  in  her  presence,  or,  at  least,  within 
hearing  distance  of  her  voice.  And  it  was  not  long  before 
the  constant  association  of  Avis  with  the  music  I  loved  so 
well  began,  even  when  I  was  not  listening  to  her,  to  draw 
my  affections  toward  one  who,  at  will,  could  exert  such 
power  over  me. 

Mona  was  still  herself,  the  same  friendly,  joyous  creat- 
ure as  ever,  but  the  knowledge  that  I  could  never  gain  her 
undivided  affection  helped  to  cure  my  infatuation.  And 
now,  with  my  heart  free,  why  should  I  not  love  Avis  ?  The 
mere  fact  that  she  was  an  inhabitant  of  Mars  proved  that 
she  was  far  too  good  for  me,  but  I  could  see  by  the  example 
of  Fcedric  and  Antonia  that  Avis  would  never,  in  conse- 
quence of  her  high  development,  have  any  scruples  against 
loving  one  person  more  than  others. 

When  I  had  fully  persuaded  myself  that  I  was  perfectly 
consistent  in  my  present  course,  I  became  quite  anxious  to 
know  what  others  would  think  of  me.  But  I  was  too  much 
afraid  of  the  doctor's  criticism  to  confide  my  secret  to  him. 
I  must  try  one  of  the  Martians,  whose  high  breeding  and 
true  courtesy  would  not  permit  them  to  make  light  of  one's 
feelings  on  so  serious  a  subject. 

So  it  was  to  Zenith  that  I  went  for  sympathy.  She  had 
been  more  than  kind  to  me,  and  it  is  remarkable  how  easy 
and  perfectly  at  home  she  made  me  feel  in  her  company. 

"  Zenith,"  I  began,  "  I  want  to  consult  you  on  a  delicate 
subject,  and  I  will  first  ask  you  a  rather  abrupt  question. 
Will  you  give  us  your  permission  to  take  Avis  back  to  the 
earth  with  us  ?  " 

A  Martian  never  loses  self-possession  and  is  never  at  a 
loss  what  to  say  to  the  most  unexpected  proposition. 


356  DAYBREAK. 

"Well,  that  is  abrupt,"  Zenith  quickly  responded. 
"  Do  you  know,  Thonvald  and  I  were  talking  only  this 
morning  about  your  apparent  fondness  for  the  society  of 
Avis.     Are  you  forgetting  Mona  ?  " 

This  was  getting  into  the  subject  faster  than  I  had  in- 
tended, and  I  determined  to  take  my  time,  so  I  said  : 

"  Zenith,  this  province  must  be  the  New  England  of 
Mars,  by  the  way  you  evade  my  question  and  ask  an- 
other." 

"  But  you  wouldn't  expect  me  to  answer  such  a  question 
offhand.  You  see,  it  contains  several  new  ideas.  First, 
I  didn't  know  you  thought  of  returning  to  the  earth.  Then 
I  am  surprised  that  you  should  want  to  take  anybody 
with  you.  And,  finally,  I  am  more  surprised  that  you 
should  choose  Avis  rather  than  Mona.  Now  that  I  have 
explained  so  fully,  may  I  not  ask  you  again  if  this  means 
that  you  are  forgetting  Mona  ?  " 

"  Mona  is  not  able  to  sing  for  me,"  I  said. 

"  And  do  your  ideas  of  what  is  right  allow  you  to  be- 
come indifferent  to  her  as  soon  as  she  loses  one  of  her 
attractions  ?  Here  her  misfortune  would  tend  to  make 
her  only  more  dear  to  one  who  really  loved  her." 

To  which  I  made  haste  to  answer : 

"  I  am  proud  to  tell  you.  Zenith,  that  such  sentiments 
prevail  on  the  earth,  too,  and  I  have  been  trying  hard  to 
hold  them  in  my  own  breast.  But  in  living  with  you  I  am 
learning  to  be  honest,  and  it  would  not  be  right  for  me  to 
deny  that  Mona's  chief  charm  for  me  is  gone  from  her, 
and  is  in  the  possession  of  another.  The  voice  of  Avis 
has  the  same  power  over  me  that  Mona's  formerly  had,  and 
shall  I  fight  against  my  growing  fondness  for  Avis  ?  " 

"  Is  your  race  so  little  developed,  then,"  asked  Zenith, 
"  that  your  ears  are  the  only  avenue  to  your  hearts  ?  " 


VANQUISHED    AGAIN    BY    A    VOICE.  357 

Before  I  could  answer,  Mona  herself  came  bounding  into 
the  room,  and  Zenith  continued  : 

"There's  the  poor  child  now.  How  can  you  be  so 
unkind  to  her  ?  " 

"  Who's  unkind  to  me  ?  "  asked  Mona  in  her  sign  lan- 
guage. 

"Zenith  thinks  I  am,"  I  answered. 

"  Why,  you  are  mistaken.  Zenith  ;  he  is  just  the  opposite. 
We  have  always  loved  each  other,  and  I  think  more  of  him 
than  ever  since  I  lost  my  voice,  and  he  has  ceased  making 
serious  speeches  to  me  that  I  can't  understand.  I  wish  you 
could  see  how  he  enjoys  hearing  Avis  sing." 

In  this  way  Mona  proved  to  Zenith  that  she  was  not 
heart-broken.  I  was  going  to  explain  the  matter  myself, 
but  was  glad  to  have  Mona  take  it  out  of  my  hands. 

The  most  difificult  task  yet  remained.  I  must  tell  Avis 
how  affairs  stood  ;  and  yet,  was  it  the  proper  thing  for  me  to 
do  ?  I  wondered  how  the  delicate  subject  of  making  love 
was  handled  in  Mars,  where  the  two  sexes  were  perfectly 
equal.  Which  one  was  to  make  the  advances  ?  The  mat- 
ter is  simple  enough  on  the  earth,  where  women  are  infe- 
rior and  dependent.  Of  course,  they  must  smother  their 
own  feelings  and  wait  to  be  discovered,  while  the  men  can 
make  their  selection,  and  if  they  do  not  succeed  at  first 
can  simply  try  again.  That  is  entirely  proper,  and  every- 
body knows  just  what  to  do ;  but  here  things  are  probably 
different.  I  don't  want  to  make  a  failure  in  this  case,  as  I 
did  with  Mona,  not  knowing  the  customs  of  the  moon- 
dwellers.  Perhaps  my  best  way  will  be  to  try  a  little 
coquetry  and  pretend  I  do  not  care  for  her  nor  her  singing. 
That  may  draw  her  on  to  make  some  avowal  to  me. 

I  had  gone  so  far  in  my  deliberations,  when  I  was  inter- 
rupted by  the  doctor,  who  called  to  ask  if  I  did  not  want 


358  DAYBREAK. 

to  go  out  with  him,  I  consented  reluctantly,  as  I  preferred 
to  go  on  with  my  thinking  till  I  could  come  to  some  deci- 
sion. But  the  doctor  had  a  purpose  in  taking  me  out,  and, 
as  soon  as  a  good  opportunity  presented  itself,  he  said, 
inquiringly  : 

"  You  find  Avis  a  pretty  good  singer  ?  " 

"  Excellent." 

"  And  good  company  ?  " 

"  Excellent  company.     Why  ?  " 

"  Oh,  nothing ;  only  I  thought  you  were  neglecting  another 
friend." 

"  Why,  Mona  doesn't  care  for  me,  and  Avis  does,  or,  at 
least,  I  think  she  does." 

"  Do  you  mean  by  this,"  inquired  the  doctor,  "  that  you 
have  transferred  to  Avis  the  personal  interest  you  had  in 
Mona  ?" 

"  Have  you  anything  to  say  in  disparagement  of  Avis  ?  " 
I  asked. 

"  Certainly  not.  I  have  a  high  respect  for  her.  But 
there  is  one  other  plain  question  I  would  like  to  ask  you, 
in  view  of  your  rather  erratic  behavior." 

'•'  Well,  what  is  it  ?     I'm  dying  to  know." 

"  It  is  this.  What  are  you  going  to  do  with  Marga- 
ret ?" 

"  Margaret  ?  Oh,  yes,  I  forgot  about  Margaret.  That 
is  something  else  I  have  got  to  think  over." 

That  night,  as  I  was  falling  asleep,  the  same  sweet, 
familiar  music  came  to  me  from  a  distant  part  of  the  house. 
Half-thinking  and  half-dreaming,  I  let  my  mind  drift 
where  it  would.  The  sensation  received  through  my  ears 
was  so  delicious  and  so  satisfying  that  I  wondered  why  I 
could  not  rest  in  it  entirely  and  not  think  of  the  singer; 
but  that  was  impossible.     The  notes  penetrated  from  my 


VANQUISHED    AGAIN    BY     A    VOICE.  359 

brain  down  to  the  region  of  my  heart.  I  thought  of  Mar- 
garet, but  Margaret  could  not  sing  like  that.  Mona  could 
not,  now;  no  one  but  Avis.  Oh,  how  I  loved  her  for  it  ! 
I  remembered  how  nice  Margaret  was,  and  how  much  I  had 
once  thought  of  her;  but  as  for  loving  her  now,  with  this 
music  of  Mars  in  my  ears,  why,  I  simply  couldn't  try  to  do 
it.  At  last  Margaret,  Mona,  Avis,  all  became  jumbled  up 
in  my  chaotic  mind,  and  I  thought  they  were  one  superb 
woman,  and  I  loved  her.  The  conceit  was  worthy  the  colos- 
sal selfishness  of  a  dreamer.  The  essence  of  three  worlds 
was  mine.  The  earth,  the  moon,  and  Mars  had  all  given 
me  their  best.  And  she  could  sing.  The  thought  was 
soothing.     I  was  asleep. 


CHAPTER   XXXVII. 

UNTIL    THE    DAY    BREAK. 

The  events  related  in  the  foregoing  chapter  were  inter- 
esting to  us  all,  in  one  way  and  another,  but  the  doctor 
and  I  felt  that  the  real  purpose  of  our  visit  to  Mars,  if  any- 
thing so  unpremeditated  could  be  said  to  have  a  purpose, 
was  to  learn  all  we  could  of  the  planet,  and  especially  of 
its  people.  And  as  we  did  not  know  how  soon  our  visit 
might  be  brought  to  a  close,  we  lost  no  time  in  urging  Thor- 
wald  to  continue  his  instruction  whenever  he  could  find  it 
convenient.  Thorwald's  answer  to  this  was,  that  he  hoped 
nothing  would  occur  to  hasten  our  departure,  but  that  it 
was  his  convenience  to  heed  at  any  time  our  wishes,  and 
he  would  resume  his  talk  as  soon  as  we  pleased.  So  it  was 
not  long  before  we  were  seated,  and  Thorwald  began  again 
as  follows  : 

"  It  is  now  my  privilege  to  speak  to  you,  my  friends,  of 
that  part  of  our  history  which  differs  from  anything  you 
have  experienced,  and  I  anticipate  much  pleasure  in  doing 
so.  I  must  say  again  that  we  have  found  the  parallel 
remarkably  close  between  your  career  and  ours  up  to  the 
time  when  you  left  the  earth." 

"We  have  indeed,"  remarked  the  doctor,  "and  that 
makes  us  all  the  more  anxious  to  learn  what  came  to  you 
next  and  how  you  escaped  the  threatening  storms." 

"  There  were  certainly  many  clouds  upon  our  horizon  at 


UNTIL    THE    DAY    BREAK.  361 

that  day,"  resumed  Thorwald.  "  The  people  were  full  of 
unrest.  The  worst  part  wanted  to  replace  organized  society 
Avith  anarchy,  but  this  extreme  party  never  succeeded  in 
their  purpose.  The  world  had  progressed  too  far  for  that. 
There  were  too  many  churches  and  schools  and  printing 
presses.  The  anarchists  should  have  begun  their  efforts  in 
a  ruder  age. 

"  There  was  more  danger  from  the  jealousies  and  mis- 
chievous tendencies  among  the  great  industrial  class, 
because  their  number  was  so  large.  But  even  here  the 
same  influences  which  saved  us  from  the  nihilist  had  their 
effect.  As  time  went  on,  men  came  to  think  more,  and  the 
result  of  this  was  that  both  conscience  and  reason  began  to 
govern  men's  actions. 

"  The  workmen  had  looked  about  them  and  had  seen 
many  corporations  increasing  in  wealth  and  power,  and  indi- 
viduals rolling  up  enormous  fortunes,  and  they  had  felt  that 
they  were  not  getting  a  fair  share  of  the  money  their  labor 
was  earning.  But  then  a  little  thought  enabled  them  to 
realize  that  these  evidences  of  great  prosperity  came  from 
the  successful  few,  while  a  large  proportion  of  all  business 
ventures  were  failures ;  and  in  these  the  employees  received 
more  of  the  profits  than  the  owners  did.  Then  the  wage- 
earners  had  the  benefit  of  much  of  the  money  accumulated 
in  large  fortunes,  by  having  the  free  use  of  libraries,  trade 
schools,  reading  rooms,  and  an  increasing  number  of  phil- 
anthropic institutions,  which  were  equipped  and  endowed 
by  the  rich.  Such  a  use  of  wealth  became  an  ordinary 
thing,  so  that  it  was  not  a  matter  of  wonder  and  wide  notice 
when  a  man  spent  a  liberal  share  of  his  fortune  in  edu- 
cational or  other  humanitarian  work. 

"  All  this  had  a  great  effect  on  the  mass  of  the  people, 
gradually  raising   the   average    of    character,   and   placing 


362  DAYBREAK. 

before  the  mind  a  higher  incentive  for  right  living.  Igno- 
rance had  always  been  to  the  race  a  twin  enemy  with  sin, 
and  the  growth  of  intelligence  meant  the  general  elevation 
of  mankind. 

"  Another  chief  item  in  the  reformation  of  men  in  that 
age  of  improvement  was  the  general  abandonment  of  the 
drinking  habit.  You  will  understand,  of  course,  that  the 
mainspring  of  all  these  reforms  was  the  gospel  of  Christ, 
under  which  man's  spiritual  nature  was  gradually  developing. 
But,  at  the  same  time,  there  was  always  a  secondary  cause, 
and  through  human  instrumentality  such  blessings  came 
to  us.  What  do  you  suppose  brought  about  the  overthrow 
of  intemperance  ?" 

"  I  suspect,"  answered  the  doctor,  with  a  glance  at  our 
hostess,  "  it  was  the  growing  influence  of  woman,  who,  by 
that  time,  according  to  Zenith's  account,  ought  to  be  tak- 
ing quite  a  leading  position." 

"Doctor,"  said  Thorwald,  "you  take  in  the  situation 
completely.  If  there  was  one  thing  woman  had  always 
been  sure  she  could  do,  it  was  the  breaking  up  of  the  liquor 
traffic.  In  the  old  days,  when  she  had  been  treated  as  man's 
inferior,  she  had  declared  that,  if  she  had  the  power,  she 
would  stamp  out  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  intoxicating 
drinks,  and  make  it  impossible  for  men  to  get  them  at  any 
price.  And  when  power  came  to  her  I  am  glad  to  say  she 
proved  that  her  boast  had  not  been  in  vain.  Not  that  she 
fulfilled  her  threat  in  any  such  dramatic  way  as  she  had 
had  in  mind,  but  the  end  was  accomplished  just  as 
surely  by  the  force  of  her  high  character,  working  itself  out 
in  many  ways.  It  was  chiefly  a  crusade  of  education.  The 
children  of  one  generation  after  another  were  taught  the 
value  of  right  habits  and  purity  of  body,  and  in  time  the 
change  was  wrought,   a  victory  for  woman  more  precious 


UNTIL    THE    DAY    BREAK.  363 

to  the  race  than  any  army  of  mailed  warriors  had  ever 
won. 

"  With  temperance  came  better  manners,  more  self- 
respect,  a  kinder  spirit,  a  more  tender  care  for  others,  and, 
along  with  these  things,  better  hearts  and  better  homes." 

As  Thorwald  had  invited  us  to  interrupt  him  as  often 
as  we  pleased,  I  took  advantage  of  a  pause  here  by  say- 
ing: 

"  I  see,  Thorwald,  you  are  making  the  people  all  too 
good  to  leave  any  fear  in  the  mind  of  a  social  convulsion, 
but  I  would  like  to  ask  how  politics  were  smoothed  out. 
During  that  period  of  industrial  war,  which  you  described 
to  us,  you  said  the  workingmen  and  ignorant  classes  found 
they  were  in  the  majority  and  were  beginning  to  use  their 
power  unjustly.  We  are  threatened  in  a  similar  way  on  the 
earth  at  this  time,  and  I  am  anxious  to  know  how  the  cloud 
in  your  sky  was  dispersed." 

"  I  will  endeavor  to  make  it  plain  to  you,"  replied  Thor- 
wald, *'  but  you  must  remember  I  am  trying  to  condense  the 
history  of  a  great  many  years  into  as  few  words  as  possible. 
It  was  found  that  there  had  been  a  mistake  in  making  the 
right  of  suffrage  universal  without  universal  education,  and 
that  the  ignorant  and  vicious  were  so  numerous  as  to  make 
the  average  unsafe  to  rely  upon  in  a  crisis.  It  was  a  diiifi- 
cult  matter  to  remedy  this  state  of  things.  Some  attempts 
were  made  from  time  to  time  to  confine  the  privilege  of 
citizenship  to  the  intelligent  part  of  the  community,  but 
many  of  the  best  people  thought  this  was  taking  the  wrong 
course,  and  that  the  only  safe  cure  was  in  educating  all  classes 
up  to  a  full  appreciation  of  their  higher  duties.  There  was 
a  growing  faith,  the  world  over,  in  the  virtue  of  the  people 
at  large,  and  wherever  they  had  been  given  full  power  to 
govern  themselves,  or  had  taken  it  from  their  former  rulers, 


364  DAYBREAK. 

they  were  exceedingly  jealous  of  any  abridgment  of  this 
power. 

"  Here,  again,  we  see  the  effects  of  the  beneficent  influ- 
ence of  woman.  The  more  her  dominion  increased  the 
more  was  intelligence  diffused,  and  although  she  yielded 
to  the  subtle  temptation  of  power  and  reigned  alone  for 
a  while,  yet  the  world  had,  on  the  whole,  great  cause  to  be 
thankful  for  her  signal  advancement.  With  education  made 
compulsory,  and  with  society  brought  gradually  under  the 
sway  of  Avoman's  finer  nature  and  more  lofty  ideals,  com- 
munities were  molded  to  a  higher  form  of  life,  and  saved 
from  the  evils  which  threatened  them  in  their  former  state. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  briefly  how  war  was  banished  from  our 
world,  that  monster  whose  hideous  presence  Avould  be  so 
utterly  out  of  place  here  now.  At  the  beginning  of  the 
age  I  am  describing,  the  foremost  nations  kept  powerful 
armies  and  navies,  all  ready  for  their  deadly  work.  Wars 
Avere  frequent  and  bloody.  The  best  of  the  young  men  in 
nearly  every  land  were  forced  to  bear  arms  and  fight  for 
their  country  at  the  command  of  their  rulers,  while  the 
conscience  of  mankind  was  dulled  and  stunted  by  the  spec- 
tacle or  constant  menace  of  war. 

"  The  lives  of  millions  of  men  were  actually  in  the  hands 
of  a  few  irresponsible  autocrats,  who  were  possessed  with 
exaggerated  or  false  notions  of  national  honor.  Now  came 
a  time  when  the  world  stood  hushed,  as  it  were,  on  the  eve 
of  a  mighty  conflict.  Every  nation  had  increased  its  army 
and  strengthened  its  defenses  to  the  utmost  limit.  Every 
day  threatened  to  see  the  match  lighted — a  hasty  word,  a 
fancied  insult,  any  trivial  thing,  which  would  bring  on  the 
struggle  and  put  the  world  in  mourning.  And  what  was  it 
all  for  ?  No  one  could  tell.  It  seemed  to  be  nothing  but 
the  selfish  ambition  of  the  nders  and  their  innate  love  for 


UNTIL    THE    DAY    BREAK,  365 

supremacy.  As  for  the  real  actors,  those  who  were  to  do 
the  actual  fighting,  they  had  no  love  for  their  work.  How- 
ever it  may  have  been  in  the  past,  the  world  was  older  now 
and  better,  and  war  was  abhorred  with  all  its  accompani- 
ments both  by  the  army  and  by  the  people  at  large. 

"  It  was  a  time  of  great  inventions,  looking  not  only  to 
the  saving  of  life  but  to  its  destruction.  Even  while  the 
nations  were  standing,  arms  in  hand,  waiting  for  the  signal 
to  begin  the  conflict,  their  weapons  were  rendered  useless 
and  the  strength  of  their  fortresses  reduced  to  nothing  by 
the  working  of  one  man's  brain.  Yes,  by  a  single  inven- 
tion, inspired  by  God  for  the  good  of  his  creation,  inhu- 
man war  received  its  death-blow  and  the  world  obtained  a 
mighty  impulse  toward  its  final  goal." 

The  doctor  became  somewhat  excited  by  these  words  and 
asked  with  eagerness : 

"  What  wonderful  invention  was  that  ?  " 

"The  perfection  of  the  air  ship,"  Thorwald  replied, 
"  by  which  any  required  weight  could  be  taken  into  the  air, 
and  carried  with  ease  and  certainty  by  currents  of  air  or 
force  of  gravity. 

"  You  no  doubt  see  what  such  an  invention  implies.  It 
means  that  powerful  explosives  could  be  dropped  from  the 
sky  in  quantities  sufficient  to  annihilate  an  army  or  utterly 
destroy  a  city.  Experiments  were  made,  and  engineers 
learned,  with  surprising  rapidity,  to  cast  the  bombs  with 
great  accuracy  from  any  desired  height. 

"  At  once  every  government  hastened  to  build  air  ships 
and  manufacture  explosives.  There  seemed  to  be  no  limit 
in  sight  to  the  production  of  either,  and  soon  power  enough 
was  stored  in  this  way  to  extinguish  half  the  life  of  the 
world,  when  rightly  applied.  The  entire  system  of  warfare 
was  revolutionized;  but,  while  all  were  preparing  for  offen- 


366  DAYBREAK. 

sive  operations,  there  appeared  to  be  no  adequate  plan  of 
defense  under  the  new  system.  It  therefore  became  appar- 
ent that,  should  the  threatening  cloud  burst,  it  would  be 
difficult  to  imagine  the  extent  of  the  destruction  it  would 
bring.  This  feeling,  which  filled  all  hearts  with  dread, 
delayed  the  catastrophe,  for  no  one  was  ready  to  assume 
such  an  immense  responsibility.  So  matters  stood  for  a 
long  time,  the  fear  of  the  dire  consequences  preventing  an 
outbreak,  while  the  sentiment  against  war  was  rapidly  grow- 
ing. In  nations  of  the  highest  civilization,  where  the 
Christian  character  of  the  people  was  reflected  in  the  gov- 
ernment, some  serious  disputes  had  been  settled  by  arbitra- 
tion, and  every  time  this  humane  method  was  adopted  a 
precedent  was  created  which  made  war  appear  more  and 
more  useless  and  barbarous.  The  world  was  now  becoming- 
so  much  changed  that  such  a  good  example  was  contagious, 
and  the  result  was  that  the  aerial  warships  and  the  deadly 
dynamite  did  not  have  to  be  used. 

"  Among  the  legends  of  the  time  is  the  improbable  one 
that,  when  these  air  fleets  were  at  their  highest  point  of 
efficiency,  and  the  world  was  literally  lying  at  their  mercy, 
one  hot-headed  young  monarch,  whose  selfish  pride  had 
stolen  away  his  senses,  gave  the  command  to  fire  the  train 
which  would  rain  destruction  upon  his  foes ;  when,  wonder 
of  wonders,  not  a  man  would  obey  his  order.  Angered 
beyond  measure  by  such  an  unwonted  experience,  he  seized 
with  his  own  hand  the  electric  apparatus  arranged  to  give 
the  fatal  spark,  but  with  such  violence  and  indiscretion  that, 
instead  of  sending  the  current  on  its  appointed  mission, 
it  turned  from  its  course  and  destroyed  the  angry  youth 
himself. 

"  This  is  undoubtedly  a  myth,  but  the  rest  that  I  have 
told  you  is  well-authenticated  history. 


UNTIL    THE    DAY    BREAK.  367 

"  The  abolition  of  war  seems  sudden,  but  it  never  would 
have  taken  place  as  it  did  had  not  the  people  been  prepared 
for  it  by  a  radical  change  in  their  character.  For  many 
years  the  spirit  of  peace  had  been  quietly  at  work  on  the 
heart  of  mankind,  until  it  came  to  be  realized  that  warfare 
and  strife,  whether  between  individuals  or  nations,  were 
bound  to  die  away  under  the  growing  appreciation  for  the 
higher  law. 

"  It  was  one  of  the  supreme  days  in  the  history  of  Mars, 
when  grim  war  passed  and  became  but  a  memor}\  The  effect 
was  instantaneous.  At  once  the  people  of  the  different 
nations  were  drawn  together  to  their  mutual  advantage. 
Commerce  became  world-wide,  one  language  was  adopted, 
and  the  arts  of  peace  flourished  as  never  before.  Men 
began  to  feel  that  they  were  one  family,  national  distinc- 
tions were  made  little  of,  and  the  world  drifted  gradually 
toward  universal  brotherhood. 

"  I  must  now  draw  your  attention  to  the  work  of  the 
church  and  show  you  how  it  was  carrying  out  its  great  commis- 
sion. First,  to  prepare  for  the  highest  usefulness,  it  quite 
early  freed  itself  from  the  sectarian  spirit.  As  the  magni- 
tude of  its  mission  became  more  apparent  the  points  of 
difference  between  the  denominations  grew  constantly 
smaller,  and,  in  time,  all  Christians  found  themselves 
united  on  the  fundamental  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  work- 
ing together  to  bring  the  world  to  the  light.  With  this 
union  fully  accomplished,  Christianity  became  more  than 
ever  the  dominant  force  in  the  world,  and  the  church  the 
chief  center  of  all  work  looking  to  the  elevation  of  the 
race. 

"  The  progress  of  the  world  was  along  the  line  of  the 
brotherhood  of  man,  and  that  doctrine  was  the  church's 
own.     Christianity  taught  the   true  socialism,  which,  how- 


368  DAYBREAK. 

ever,  could  not  be  realized  till  the  heart  had  lost  its  selfish- 
ness, and  each  one  had  learned  to  care  for  the  interests  of 
his  neighbor.  Although  such  a  condition  was  not  in  sight 
at  that  day,  there  was  a  mighty  awakening  which  set  the 
current  of  men's  thoughts  and  desires  strongly  in  the  right 
direction." 

"Do  you  call  yourselves  socialists  now?"  asked  the 
doctor. 

"  No,"  answered  Thorwald,  "  but  you  can  call  us  so,  if 
you  please.  It  is  a  good  word,  but  our  condition  is  much 
more  perfect,  since  the  coming  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in 
every  heart,  than  any  dream  of  socialism,  in  the  olden 
time,  ever  contemplated. 

"  I  was  speaking  of  the  increasing  power  of  religion. 
Where  the  church  had  been  weak  and  dependent  on  a  few 
half-earnest,  timid  believers,  it  was  now  strong  and  active, 
and  supported  by  all  the  self-respecting  portion  of  soci- 
ety. Instead  of  being  forced  to  beg  for  its  meager  subsist- 
ence, it  now  received  in  abundance  the  money  that  was 
poured  out  voluntarily.  Men  did  not  wait  for  death,  but 
gave  their  fortunes  away  during  their  lives,  and  enjoyed  the 
blessing  which  followed.  The  church  went  down  to  the 
people,  and  in  so  doing  lifted  them  up  to  itself.  It  showed 
them  how  to  make  much  of  life,  gave  them  instruction  and 
recreation  and  social  enjoyment,  fed  the  hungry,  clothed 
the  naked,  and  visited  those  in  trouble.  It  strengthened 
familv  and  neighborhood  ties,  encouraged  peace  and  good- 
fellowship,  and  taught  men  to  love  each  other  as  a  prepara- 
tion for  loving  God. 

"  A  local  church  of  that  day  was  not  a  feeble  body  of 
men  and  wom^en,  with  an  overworked  and  underpaid  man 
at  their  head,  who  was  expected  to  do  all  the  varied  work 
required,  except  what  he  could  get  done  by  a  small  number 


UNTIL    THE    DAY    BREAK.  369 

of  his  members,  themselves  worn  out  with  the  labor  and 
business  of  life.  No,  I  will  acquaint  you  with  a  then  mod- 
ern church.  It  was  an  institution  rich  in  resources  and 
men,  male  and  female,  reaching  out  into  the  community  in 
every  direction,  helping  the  people  in  every  imaginable  way 
to  live  as  well  as  preparing  them  to  die,  a  beauty  and  a  joy  to 
all.  It  appealed  to  every  side  of  man's  nature,  first  supplying 
physical  wants,  not  by  indiscriminate  largess  of  money,  but 
by  teaching  sobriety,  industry,  and  thrift  as  virtues  necessary 
to  a  rounded  character.  Such  teaching  was  not  confined  to 
pulpit  precepts,  but  there  was  no  lack  of  good  souls  who 
took  delight  in  going  into  the  homes  of  the  people  and 
showing  them  by  example  the  best  ways  of  living,  and  how 
to  make  even  the  homeliest  duties  a  loving  and  beautiful 
service.  To  provide  further  for  the  needs  of  the  body, 
there  were  gymnasiums,  bath-houses,  swimming  schools, 
playgrounds,  riding  schools,  and  the  like. 

"  More  numerous  still  Avere  the  means  offered  to  meet  the 
intellectual  and  social  desires — club-houses,  lecture  halls, 
conservatories,  museums,  picture  galleries,  libraries,  read- 
ing rooms,  observatories,  kindergartens,  manual  training 
and  trade  schools,  besides  games  and  sports,  spectacular 
and  dramatic  exhibitions  of  a  high  order,  and  many  other 
things,  designed  to  compete  with  attractions  of  a  debasing 
character. 

"  Then,  rising  high  over  all,  both  in  outward  form  and 
inward  grace,  was  the  church  edifice  itself,  set  apart  and 
strictly  preserved  for  its  sacred  purpose.  In  the  noble 
lines  of  its  architecture,  in  the  beauty  of  its  artistic  adorn- 
ment, and  in  the  character  of  its  service,  intellectual  and 
musical,  it  represented  the  highest  culture  of  the  age. 
The  structure  included  under  its  roof  accommodations  for 
the  various  departments  of  religious  work,  and  its  doors 
24 


370  DAYBREAK. 

were  always  open,  inviting  every  passer-by  to  enter  and  seek 
for  spiritual  refreshment. 

"  Imagine,  if  you  can,  an  institution  employing  all  these 
agencies,  every  one  of  them  fully  equipped  and  manned, 
and  with  streams  of  money  flowing  in  to  their  support ;  no 
barren  appeals  from  the  pulpit  for  funds  to  pay  expenses, 
and  no  auctioneer's  hammer  profaning  the  sacred  aisles. 

"  This  was  the  church  of  the  period.  Can  you  wonder 
that  God's  rich  blessing  was  on  such  work  and  that  his 
kingdom  made  rapid  progress  ?  There  was  an  ever-in- 
creasing number  of  God's  ministers,  men  and  women, 
imbued  with  Christ's  own  spirit,  working  in  all  these  vari- 
ous activities  to  elevate  and  save  their  kind. 

"  In  the  life  of  the  people  there  was  nothing  in  all  the 
world  that  so  surrounded  them  as  the  church.  They  could 
not  escape  from  its  influence.  It  touched  them  from  one 
side  or  from  another,  calling  upon  them,  by  every  manner 
of  appeal,  to  lead  less  sordid  lives,  and  seek  the  highest 
good.  Whereas  in  the  olden  time  they  seemed  to  be  set 
in  the  midst  of  evil  influences,  which  imperceptibly 
molded  their  characters  and  too  often  wrecked  their  lives, 
their  condition  was  so  changed  that  their  environment  was 
now  a  help  and  not  a  hindrance,  and  so  the  gospel  found 
easy  entrance  to  their  hearts  and  lives. 

"  This  much  the  church  had  done  by  giving  its  money 
and  itself,  with  new-born  zeal,  to  the  work  of  the  Master. 
And  from  this  time  you  may  be  sure  its  victories  were 
rapid  and  notable. 

"  While  this  great  change  in  society  had  been  going  on 
among  nominal  Christian  people,  hand  in  hand  had  gone 
the  work  of  the  gospel  in  heathen  lands.  The  faster  the 
money  was  poured  out  for  the  church  at  home,  the  more 
plentifully  it  was  offered  for  the  foreign  field.      Sometimes 


UNTIL    THE    DAY    BREAK,  37I 

it  was  feared  there  would  be  more  money  than  men  and 
women  for  the  work.  Then  the  laborers  would  come  forward 
in  such  numbers  that  the  money  would  be  exhausted,  which, 
however,  gave  no  concern,  for  it  was  sure  to  come  again  as 
soon  as  needed.  Where  one  missionary,  in  the  former 
days,  had  had  the  courage  to  take  up  the  work,  now  thou- 
sands sprang  forward  and  with  eager  hearts  went  into  the 
field. 

"  Going  to  the  heathen  in  the  same  spirit  of  brotherly  love 
and  helpfulness  which  had  been  so  successful  at  home,  the 
church  was  almost  overwhelmed  with  the  happy  results. 
One  people  after  another  threw  away  their  idols,  and  became 
followers  of  the  gentle  Savior,  whose  disciples  showed  so 
much  of  his  spirit.  In  every  part  of  the  world  the  gospel 
was  gaining  fast  over  superstition  and  ignorance.  In 
Christian  lands  no  other  news  was  so  sought  after  by  all  as 
the  reports  of  the  progress  of  the  cross,  at  home  and  abroad. 
Enthusiasm  is  a  small  word  with  which  to  describe  the  burst 
of  genuine  interest  in  this  great  cause.  Nor  was  it  a  tran- 
sient show  of  feeling,  but  so  steady  and  constant  that  there 
was  never  any  doubt  of  its  enduring  till  the  final  victory 
was  won. 

"  Where  now  were  the  dangers  that  threatened  society  ? 
What  had  become  of  the  labor  troubles,  the  schemes  of  the 
anarchists,  the  menace  of  the  unemployed,  the  risk  of  a  plu- 
tocracy, and  all  the  evils  that  darkened  the  sky  of  that 
former  day  ?  How  far  away,  how  trivial  these  things 
seemed,  now  that  they  had  passed,  and  men  were  learning 
to  dwell  together  in  peace." 


CHAPTER   XXXVIII. 

AND    THE    SHADOWS    FLEE    AWAY. 

Thorwald  paused  again,  and  the  doctor  felt  moved 
to  say  : 

"  Your  sketch  has  been  richly  enjoyed,  Thorwald,  and  if 
it  can  be  taken  as  prophetic,  in  any  sense,  of  what  is  to 
come  to  pass  on  the  earth,  we  are  to  see  some  happy  days 
indeed.  But  a  question  has  arisen  in  my  mind  which  I 
would  like  to  ask  you.  When  you  broke  off  your  former 
narrative,  things  were  in  a  pretty  serious  state  among  your 
ancestors.  You  have  now  told  us  in  a  general  way  that 
there  was  a  great  change  for  the  better,  and  that  every 
thing  and  every  body  improved  until  the  time  came  when 
it  was  easier  to  be  good  than  not.  I  accept  the  fact,  but  do 
not  understand  the  practical  operation  of  the  causes  that 
led  to  such  a  result.  For  instance,  I  would  like  to  know 
how  that  industrial  strife  came  to  an  end.  The  parties  to  it 
seemed  to  be  full  of  bitter  enmity  and  far  enough  from 
ever  loving  one  another.  You  have  perhaps  answered  my 
question  already,  and  my  stupidity  has  prevented  me  from 
grasping  your  meaning." 

"  Let  me  first  ask  you  a  question,"  said  Thorwald.  "  I 
have  inferred,  from  some  words  you  have  let  fall  from  time 
to  time,  that  your  mind  has  changed  somewhat.  Will  you 
admit  that  whatever  advance  this  world  has  made  has  come 
through  the  teachings  of  Christ  ?  " 


AND    THE    SHADOWS    FLEE    AWAY.  373 

**  It  would  be  rather  presumptuous  in  me,"  answered 
the  doctor,  "  to  think  of  denying  anything  to  which  you 
hold  so  firmly.  More  than  that,  in  the  light  of  what  I 
have  seen  and  heard  here,  my  own  views,  so  rashly  expressed 
in  the  first  days  of  our  acquaintance,  seem  to  me  out  of 
place.  They  were  formed  without  sufficient  study  of  the 
subject,  and  I  am  free  to  tell  you  that  I  now  believe  the 
same  influence  to  which  you  attribute  your  growth  is  the 
strength  and  growth  of  our  race  also." 

"  Your  words  give  me  great  pleasure,"  Thorwald  resumed, 
*''  for  now  I  know  I  have  your  full  sympathy.  The  troubles 
to  which  you  refer,  and  all  the  clouds  of  that  period,  were 
dispersed  by  the  growth  of  the  spirit  of  love  in  the  world. 
Does  that  seem  a  vague  and  insufficient  answer  to  your  ques- 
tion ?  Does  the  cause  appear  inadequate  to  the  effect  ? 
Perhaps  I  should  have  warned  you  not  to  expect  any  new  or 
startling  method  of  removing  these  evils.  The  world  was 
not  in  need  of  any  nostrum  for  curing  sin,  nor  of  any  new 
scheme  of  the  visionary  for  teaching  men  how  to  find  peace 
and  happiness. 

"  No,  the  old  gospel  was  sufficient.  The  power  was 
already  at  work  which  was  to  regenerate  the  world  and,  in 
time,  to  do  away  with  all  kinds  of  oppression  and  injustice. 
The  gospel  did  not  spend  its  force  so  much  in  attacking 
special  forms  of  evil.  It  struck  at  the  foundation  of  our  sinful 
nature,  and,  by  long  and  patient  effort,  won  a  firm  place  in 
our  hearts.  Then  the  whole  structure  of  evil  passions  and 
low  desires  fell,  and  our  race  began  to  build,  on  this  new 
and  safe  foundation,  more  beautiful  and  enduring  man- 
sions. 

"  If  we  were  to  be  the  children  of  God,  it  was  necessary  for 
us  to  be  like  him,  to  deny  ourselves,  and  to  love  our  ene- 
mies.   So,  with  that  spirit  growing  in  our  hearts,  what  place 


374  DAYBREAK. 

was  there  for  greed  and  anger  and  strife  between  man  and 
man  ? 

"  One  secret  of  the  new  power  put  forth  by  the  church  is 
to  be  found  in  the  union  of  all  good  men  and  women  in  its 
support.  Before  that  period  many  people  of  character  had 
stood  aloof,  giving  little  thought  to  religion  for  themselves, 
and  less  still  to  its  influence  on  the  world  at  large.  Some 
of  them  were  out-and-out  unbelievers,  but,  for  the  most 
part,  they  were  careless  livers,  too  much  engrossed  in  the 
affairs  of  this  world  to  feel  any  anxiety  about  the  world  to 
come. 

"  But  now,  in  the  march  of  events,  the  time  came  when 
the  lines  must  be  sharply  drawn  between  the  good  and  evil 
forces.  Iniquity  presented  such  a  bold  front,  and  all  the 
foes  of  order  and  decency  became  so  threatening,  that  the 
moral  forces  of  society  had  to  combine  for  mutual  pro- 
tection. The  church,  being  the  conservator  of  morals  as 
of  religion,  was  the  only  rallying  point  for  these  forces, 
and  felt  at  once  the  impulse  of  new  life.  Thus,  society, 
in  the  hour  of  its  extremity,  found  the  true  source  of  its 
salvation,  and  from  that  day  its  progress  toward  a  higher 
state  began,  a  progress  which  has  never  yet  been  stayed. 

"  Let  me  urge  you.  Doctor,  to  learn  a  lesson  from  our 
history.  You  acknowledge  that,  if  the  earth  is  to  be  saved 
from  the  evils  which  threaten  its  peace,  it  must  be  through 
the  gospel.  If,  therefore,  you  and  others  like  you  wish  to 
help  speed  the  earth  in  its  upward  path,  you  must  obey  and 
work  for  that  gospel.  To  do  good  to  your  fellowmen  and 
assist  in  the  regeneration  of  the  world  is  only  one  motive 
for  doing  this,  but  it  will,  I  am  sure,  lead  you  to  that  other 
motive,  a  desire  to  please  your  God.  Every  consideration 
calls  you  to  leave  your  doubts  and  negations,  your  neglect 
and  indifference,  and  join  with  all  the  strength  of  your  char- 


AND    THE    SHADOWS    FLEE    AWAY.  375 

acter  in  a  united  effort  to  free  the  earth  from  some  of  its  sin. 
When  this  is  done,  when  all  the  good  forces  cease  their 
strife  and  their  cold  neutrality  and  come  together  under 
the  banner  of  love,  you  will  see  a  mighty  change.  Then 
will  the  earth  grow  bright  with  hope  and  begin  to  realize 
something  of  the  nature  of  its  high  destiny. 

"  Let  me  continue  to  describe  the  effect  of  such  warm- 
hearted, combined  labor  among  us,  and  the  result  on  our 
planet  of  the  great  spiritual  awakening  to  which  I  have 
referred. 

"  As  men  took  note  of  the  vast  improvement  going  on 
around  them,  for  every  department  of  life  felt  the  quick- 
ening of  the  new  zeal,  they  became  more  and  more  eager 
in  the  overthrow  of  evil.  And  they  had  learned  thoroughly 
the  great  truth  that  the  way  to  regenerate  the  world  was  for 
everyone  to  build  up  his  own  character  in  truth  and  right- 
eousness. Noble  lives,  devoted  to  lofty  aims,  were  the 
natural  result  of  the  change,  and  our  race,  emerging  from 
such  a  state  of  imperfection  as  I  have  tried  to  outline, 
began  to  realize  with  joy  that  they  were  living  in  a  new 
world. 

"  I  wish  I  could  describe  to  you  in  fitting  words  the 
wonderful  nature  of  this  advancement.  All  the  pride  and 
selfishness,  so  common  to  all  hearts  in  our  degenerate  days, 
were  now  driven  out  and  replaced  by  the  spirit  of  self- 
denial.  Love,  the  living  principle  in  the  gospel,  had 
conquered  all  its  foes  and  was  now  enthroned  in  every 
heart. 

"  Do  not  suppose  all  this  came  about  in  one  gener- 
ation. It  is  only  by  comparing  one  period  with  another 
that  we  are  able  to  see  such  marked  progress.  Our  devel- 
opment toward  the  higher  life  has  always  been  step  by  step, 
and  sometimes  so  slow  that  the  people  actually  living,  and 


376  DAYBREAK. 

in  whom  the  change  was  taking  place,  were  not  aware  of 
any  growth. 

"  But  there  have  been  special  periods  in  our  history 
when,  after  long  years  of  preparation,  the  race  has  come  to 
a  sudden  appreciation  of  a  higher  and  better  condition. 
The  most  glorious  epoch  of  this  kind  came  at  the  close  of 
the  period  I  have  just  been  describing. 

"  Perhaps  you  have  seen  some  rare  plant,  having  come  to 
its  maturity  through  a  process  so  slow  as  to  bring  discour- 
agement, often,  to  those  who  are  cultivating  it,  now  sud- 
denly burst  into  bloom  with  such  magnificence  that  the 
disappointments  of  the  past  are  all  forgotten  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  its  beauty. 

"  So  broke  that  blessed  day  upon  Mars.  None  so  fair 
had  ever  dawned  before,  and  none  less  fair  have  we  ever 
seen  since. 

"  While  this  spiritual  awakening  was  taking  place,  there 
had  been  rapid  progress,  also,  in  our  material  develop- 
ment. The  evils  that  formerly  vexed  our  bodies  having 
disappeared,  we  were  now  free  from  sin  and  sorrow  alike, 
and  so  were  prepared  to  enter  upon  duties  relating  to  our 
higher  condition. 

"  All  nature  rejoiced  with  us,  for  the  world  itself  was 
filled  with  the  joy  and  beauty  which  came  from  the  knowl- 
edge of  the  Lord.  Peace  reigned  in  the  animal  creation, 
and  such  gladness  abounded  everywhere  that  it  is  hardly  an 
exaggeration  to  say  that  the  mountains  and  hills  broke  forth 
into  singing,  and  all  the  trees  of  the  field  clapped  their 
hands." 

As  Thorwald  uttered  these  closing  words,  so  beautiful 
and  familiar,  I  was  so  impressed  with  their  appropriate- 
ness to  his  narrative  that  I  did  not  stop  to  wonder  where 
he  had  obtained  them,  but  inquired  with  eagerness  : 


AND    THE    SHADOWS    FLEE    AWAY.  377 

"  And  is  it  true,  Thorvvald,  that  instead  of  the  thorn  there 
came  up  the  fir-tree,  and  instead  of  the  brier  there  came 
up  the  myrtle-tree  ?  " 

"  That  describes  the  situation  admirably,"  he  answered, 
"and  it  is  literally  true." 

"  Why  should  that  be  so  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Because,  when  sin  was  banished  from  our  world,  it 
dragged  in  its  train  every  evil  thing  and  left  all  bright  and 
joyous  behind  it.  Even  the  unconscious  soil  was  so  improved 
in  character  that,  whereas  in  the  former  time  it  had  brought 
forth  by  nature  the  thorn  and  brier  and  noxious  weed,  there 
now  sprang  up  spontaneously  all  manner  of  healthful  plants 
and  fruits." 

"But,"  said  I,  "we  do  not  attribute  moral  excellence 
to  the  ground  that  produces  our  food.  How  could  the 
absence  of  sin  make  it  any  better  ?  " 

"  Like  everything  else,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  it  reflected 
the  spiritual  condition  of  our  race.  By  long  and  patient 
cultivation,  by  a  constant  use  of  good  seed,  and  by  a  per- 
sistent fight  against  every  tendency  to  evil  growth,  men  had 
so  changed  the  nature  of  the  soil  that  it  yielded  only  that 
which  was  good.  Even  if  left  without  care  the  ground  did 
not  deteriorate,  but  the  products  took  on  the  character  of 
the  times  and  gradually  improved.  To  such  a  degree  had 
our  once  sinful  world  been  changed. 

"  The  disagreeable  features  in  nature's  laboratory  were 
lost  to  every  sense,  while  everything  that  was  beautiful  in 
sight  or  sound,  or  that  was  pleasant  to  the  taste,  now  pos- 
sessed an  added  charm.  The  birds  sang  in  more  joyous 
notes,  the  flowers  glowed  in  brighter  hue,  and  ail  created 
things  burst  forth  in  a  song  of  praise  to  their  Maker." 

"  Is  it  possible,"  I  asked,  "  that  the  growth  of  love  in 
the  heart  will  so  transform  a  world  and  make  even  inani- 


378  DAYBREAK. 

mate  things  more  beautiful  ?  The  earth  is  full  of  selfish- 
ness and  I  fear  will  be  so  for  a  long  time,  and  yet  we  think 
we  have  a  few  things  that  are  perfect.  I  cannot  conceive, 
for  instance,  how  anything  could  ever  grow,  sin  or  no  sin, 
that  would  surpass  in  beauty  one  of  our  finest  roses." 

To  which  Thorwald  replied  : 

"  Is  this  not  of  value  to  you,  to  learn  that  the  roses  of 
the  future  are  entirely  beyond  your  conception  ?  Let  me 
assure  you  that,  with  each  new  advance  in  your  progress 
toward  a  higher  condition,  there  will  unfold  within  you  new 
powers  of  appreciation  for  the  increasing  beauties  in 
nature,  and  new  desires  for  spiritual  perfections  which  are 
now  too  high  for  your  mind  to  grasp.  Is  it  not  a  pleasure 
to  know  that  there  are  many  things  in  reserve  for  the  earth 
of  whose  character  and  perfections  you  cannot  conceive  ?  " 

"  It  surely  is,"  I  replied,  "  and  we  shall  never  cease  to 
thank  you  for  this  hour's  talk.  But  now  let  me  ask  if  you 
were  not  really  in  heaven  when  you  reached  such  a  happy 
state.  With  both  man  and  nature  redeemed  from  sin,  with 
the  tears  wiped  away  from  all  eyes,  with  all  griefs  assuaged 
and  sickness  and  sorrow  forgotten,  and  with  love  supreme  in 
the  heart,  what  more  was  needed  to  make  a  heaven  ?  Many 
of  our  generation  on  the  earth  believe  that  the  earth  itself 
will  be  our  heaven,  when  sin  has  been  driven  out  and  peace 
and  joy  abound." 

"Oh,  no,  not  heaven,"  answered  Thorwald.  "The 
earth  will  be  better  in  a  thousand  years  than  it  is  now,  much 
better  in  ten  thousand  years,  but  it  will  never  be  heaven." 

"  But  why  ?  "  I  persisted.  "  We  cannot  understand  how 
there  could  be  any  more  blessed  place  than  the  earth  would 
be  if  it  should  ever  reach  the  condition  which  you  have  pic- 
tured to  us  as  existing  here." 

"  You  have  just  stated  the  trouble,"  Thorwald  replied. 


AND    THE    SHADOWS    FLEE    AWAY.  379 

"  You  cannot  understand.  With  your  present  capacities  you 
think  a  state  such  as  I  have  described  would  be  perfection ; 
but  you — I  mean,  of  course,  your  race — will  come  in  time 
to  see  imperfections  even  in  such  a  life,  and  will,  with 
increasing  spiritual  vision,  see  still  higher  things  to  strive 
for.  Let  me  urge  you  to  keep  your  hearts  attuned  to  the 
heavenly  music  and  your  minds  open  to  divine  influences." 

Here  Thorwald  was  about  to  leave  us,  as  we  remained  in 
quiet  thought  after  his  solemn  and  impressive  words.  But 
I  kept  him  a  moment  to  ask  if  they  had  solved  all  the 
mysteries  of  God's  moral  government.  "  By  no  means," 
he  replied.  "  There  are  still  many  things  unexplained  in 
God's  dealings  with  us,  and  we  think  this  is  well.  Life 
would  lose  much  of  its  value  if  the  time  should  come  when 
there  would  be  nothing  to  learn.  We  know  much  of  God's 
character,  but  are  not  acquainted  with  its  full  depths,  and 
whenever  we  see  or  experience  anything  mysterious  in  his 
providences  we  are  content  to  wait  for  a  fuller  revelation 
of  truth  in  the  future. 

"  We  shall  see  the  time  when  all  our  questions  will  be 
answered — that  is,  in  the  world  to  come — and,  in  the  mean 
time,  we  try  to  strengthen  our  high  and  beautiful  concep- 
tion of  God's  character  by  referring  everything  we  do  not 
understand  to  his  loving  and  gracious  qualities,  which  we 
know  so  well." 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

A  SUDDEN  RETURN  TO  THE  EARTH. 

That  night,  when  the  doctor  and  I  were  alone,  I  said  to 
him  : 

"  Well,  doctor,  what  do  you  think  of  it  all  ?  " 

"  It  would  take  me  a  long  time,"  he  replied,  "  to  tell 
what  I  think.  I  confess  I  am  beginning  to  imbibe  a 
little  of  the  spirit  of  this  place.  I  have  spent  my  life  in 
the  pursuit  of  material  facts,  which  we  supposed  were  the 
only  substantial  and  valuable  things  in  life.  Now  I  find 
myself  thinking  lightly  of  such  matters,  with  my  mind 
held  in  the  grasp  of  far  different  thoughts.  I  realize  now 
something  of  the  substance  and  reality  of  unseen  things, 
and  believe  that  man  has  a  spiritual  side  to  his  nature,  which 
must  be  developed  if  he  is  to  fulfill  the  high  expectations 
of  our  friends  in  this  world.  Taught  by  Thorwald's  words 
and  by  all  I  have  seen  here,  I  have  come  to  that  point  where 
I  can  say  I  am  losing  my  doubts  and  acquiring  a  love  for 
things  which  formerly  did  not  exist  for  me.  If  we  ever 
return  to  the  earth  we  shall  find  occupation  enough  for  the 
rest  of  our  lives  in  teaching  the  lessons  we  have  learned 
here." 

"Yes,"  I  said,  "if  we  ever  return.  But  doesn't  that 
seem  impossible  ?  " 

"  It  certainly  is  difficult  to  imagine  how  it  can  be  accom- 
plished, but  going  home  ought  not  to  be  any  more  impossi- 


A  SUDDEN  RETURN  TO  THE  EARTH.        3S1 

ble  than  our  coming  here.  Perhaps  we  had  better  bestir  our- 
selves, for  Mars  is  now  getting  farther  away  from  the  earth 
every  day.  Thorwald  says  the  two  planets  were  nearer  each 
other  at  the  recent  opposition  than  ever  before  since  their 
records  began,  and  this  is  probably  what  drew  our  moon 
here,  so  fortunately  for  us.  For  the  return  trip  we 
might  get  these  generous  people  to  loan  us  Deimos  or 
Phobos." 

"  What  are  they  ?" 

"  Why,  don't  you  know  ?  They  are  the  little  satellites  of 
Mars,  named  after  the  favorite  horses  of  the  war  god." 

"But  seriously  now,"  I  asked,  "how  are  we  to  get 
home  ?  ' ' 

"Well,  seriously,  I  don't  know,"  the  doctor  answered. 
"  Some  accident  may  happen  to  send  us  away  from  here  in 
a  hurry." 

"  You  know  this  is  not  the  right  world  for  accidents,"  I 
said. 

"I  am  not  able  to  see,"  he  replied,  "how  they  can 
be  sure  that  they  are  entirely  free  from  accidents.  They 
have  been  so  long  without  them  that  it  seems  to  me  it 
would  not  be  strange  if  a  big  one  should  come  almost  any 
day.     One  must  be  due,  as  we  say." 

In  the  morning  Thorwald  met  us  with  a  pleasant  greet- 
ing, as  usual,  and  then  said  : 

"  I  have  been  surprised  that  you  have  not  shown  more 
curiosity  on  one  subject  of  vast  importance  to  us.  You 
have  not  once  asked  to  see  our  comet." 

"We  have  talked  of  it  by  ourselves, "  said  the  doctor, 

"  but  we  have  been  too  much  engrossed  in  studying  your 

history  and  customs  to  think  much  of  a  topic  so  far  above 

our  comprehension  as  the  comet.    Your  civilization  is  much 

higher  than  we  can  appreciate,  and  I  am  sure  we  should 


382  DAYBREAK. 

make  small  progress  in  attempting  to  investigate  a  develop- 
ment that  is  so  much  beyond  yours." 

"  Your  excuse,"  returned  Thorwald,  "is  as  complimen- 
tary as  it  is  ingenious.  But  should  you  not  like  to  see  an 
object  which  possesses  so  much  interest  for  us  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  the  doctor  made  haste  to  reply;  "  and  just 
as  soon  as  you  choose  to  take  us.  You  told  us  it  was  at  the 
door  of  a  large  city.     Is  it  far  from  here  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  Thorwald  answered,  "  a  long  way  in  miles,  but 
not  far  in  minutes  if  we  go  by  the  tubular  route.  But  if  it  is 
agreeable  to  you,  suppose  we  take  the  air  line  and  make  a 
leisurely  excursion  of  it." 

We  both  assured  him  that  we  were  delighted  with  the 
prospect,  and  I  suggested  that  Zenith  and  the  children 
should  accompany  us. 

"Yes,"  said  Thorwald,  "and  in  anticipation  of  your 
consent  to  go  on  the  expedition,  I  invited  some  other 
friends  of  yours  last  night  to  share  the  pleasure  with  us. 
And  here  they  are  now,"  he  continued,  rising  and  stepping 
to  the  door. 

The  doctor  and  I  hurried  forward,  and  were  heartily 
greeted  by  Proctor,  the  astronomer,  and  Foedric  of  the  red 
voice.  The  latter  was  accompanied  by  a  comely-looking 
ape,  which  had  been  trained  to  act  as  his  body  servant. 
The  animal  was  intelligent,  and  quick  to  understand  every 
word  addressed  to  him,  but  quiet  and  respectful  in  de- 
meanor, and,  to  all  appearance,  as  well  fitted  to  fill  the 
station  he  occupied  as  the  servants  we  had  been  accustomed 
to  seeing  on  the  earth. 

Zenith  explained  to  us  that  in  many  households  the  ape 
and  other  creatures  were  employed  for  light  services,  and 
were  exceedingly  useful.  But  as  for  their  own  house,  she  said 
the  work  that  could  not  be  done  by  mechanical  means  she 


A  SUDDEN  RETURN  TO  THE  EARTH.       383 

preferred  to  do  herself,  assisted  by  her  children.  It  was 
much  better  that  every  child  should  have  some  stated  work 
to  do. 

It  was  not  long  before  we  were  all  on  our  way  to  the 
aerial  station,  where  we  selected  a  commodious  air  ship, 
managed  by  one  of  Foedric's  friends. 

^^'hen  we  were  seated  comfortably  and  were  enjoying  once 
more  the  exquisite  sensation  of  sailing  so  easily  through 
that  balmy  air,  Thorwald  said  to  the  doctor  and  me  : 

"  We  all  anticipate  a  great  deal  of  pleasure  in  showing 
you  our  big  natural  curiosity  and  what  it  contains.  We 
want  to  see  your  surprise  when  you  look  upon  its  vast 
proportions,  and  your  growing  curiosity  as  you  try  to  make 
out  some  of  its  mysteries.  Things  which  baffle  our  skill 
may  be  plain  to  you,  and  perhaps  you  will  even  be  able 
to  do  something  with  that  puzzling  language." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  doctor,  "  if  it  is  beyond  your  skill  we 
shall  no  doubt  be  able  to  read  it  at  sight." 

"Well,  at  any  rate,"  continued  Thorwald,  "we  shall 
enjoy  the  novel  experience  of  exhibiting  the  marvel  of  our 
whole  world  to  those  who  were,  until  so  recently,  entirely 
ignorant  of  its  existence." 

"  I  hope,"  I  said,  "  that  our  behavior  will  not  be  such 
as  to  disappoint  you,  when  we  are  brought  face  to  face 
with  the  object  for  which  you  have  so  deep  a  senti- 
ment. 

"  But, Thorwald,  the  doctor  and  I  have  been  talking  about 
going  home.  Not  that  we  are  tiring  of  your  society,  but 
we  are  filled  with  a  desire  to  tell  the  people  of  the  earth 
what  we  have  found  on  Mars  and  try  to  teach  them  some  of 
the  good  lessons  you  have  given  us.  The  doctor,  who  has 
a  monopoly  of  the  scientific  culture  in  our  party,  can  see  no 
prospect  of  our  getting  away  from  your  planet.     With  your 


384  DAYBREAK. 

more  advanced  science,  can  you  suggest  any  way  by  which 
we  can  take  a  dignified  leave  of  you  ?  " 

'.'  We  should  regret  exceedingly,"  replied  Thorwald,  "  to 
lose  you  just  as  we  are  becoming  well  acquainted,  but  I  have 
no  criticism  to  make  on  the  excuse  you  offer  for  wanting 
to  revisit  your  home.  1  must  say,  however,  that  you  pre- 
sent to  us  too  hard  a  problem  to  solve.  With  all  our  attain- 
ments in  astronomy  and  in  the  navigation  of  the  air,  you 
went  one  point  beyond  us  when  you  took  passage  from  the 
earth  to  Mars,  for  we  have  no  means  by  which  to  express 
passengers  from  one  planet  to  another. 

"  We  consider  the  circumstances  of  your  leaving  the  earth 
and  your  journey  hither  the  most  remarkable  thing  of  the 
kind  ever  heard  of,  and  we  have  nothing  in  our  experience 
on  which  we  can  begin  to  build  any  scheme  for  sending 
you  off  on  so  long  a  flight  through  space.  If  you  will  only 
be  content  to  stay  here  till  we  have  progressed  further  with 
our  investigations  of  the  high  civilization  brought  to  light 
in  our  comet,  perhaps  we  can  help  you.  The  remarkable 
people  whose  exalted  condition  is  there  represented  may 
have  had  powers  in  this  direction  of  which  we  cannot  con- 
ceive. The  subject  will  add  even  more  zest  to  our  re- 
searches. 

"  Why  do  you  desire  to  leave  us  so  soon  ?  You  have 
seen  but  few  of  our  notable  improvements,  and  learned 
comparatively  little  of  the  practical  workings  of  our  high 
civilization.  And  then  I  have  been  hoping  the  doctor  would 
come  fully  into  our  belief  before  he  went  away." 

"  If  you  could  hear  what  he  has  told  me,"  I  said,  "  you 
would  see  that  he  is  already  fit  to  be  sent  as  a  foreign  mis- 
sionary from  this  blessed  world  to  the  struggling  earth." 

"  Good  !  "  cried  Thorwald.  "  I  am  delighted  to  hear  it. 
If  anything  could  reconcile  us  to  the  loss  of  your  society, 


A    SUDDEN    RETURN    TO    THE    EARTH.  385 

it  is  the  knowledge  that  you  will  both  be  glad  messengers 
of  hope  to  your  promising  race.  I  rejoice  that  I  have  had 
a  share  in  the  work  of  preparing  you  for  your  mission. 

**  And  now,  suppose  we  all  humor  your  conceit  and  give 
you  our  parting  words,  as  if  the  ship  were  at  hand  which 
wa-s  to  sail  the  mighty  void,  and  bear  you  safely  to  your 
distant  home. 

"  Come,  wife,  friends,  the  day  is  young  and  the  air 
delightful.  There  is  nothing  to  hasten  us  on  our  way.  Let 
us  ride  leisurely  along  and  take  a  little  time  to  speed  these 
earth-dwellers  on  their  prospective  journey  with  a  few  words 
of  cheer. 

"  Foedric,  what  advice  have  you  to  offer  them  before 
they  take  their  leave  of  us  ?  " 

Foedric  was  modest,  as  we  had  learned  before,  but  he 
entered  into  Thorwald's  plan  with  evident  pleasure,  and 
said,  addressing  the  doctor  and  me  : 

"  My  friends  from  foreign  skies,  you  do  not  need  advice 
from  me  after  you  have  been  so  long  with  Thorwald  and 
Zenith,  but  I  will  send  a  message  to  your  unfortunate  fellow 
beings  who  have  never  had  the  pleasure  of  their  acquaint- 
ance. When  you  have  related  your  experiences  and  told 
them  the  condition  in  which  you  have  found  us,  ask  them 
to  call  us  no  longer  Mars,  but  Pax,  the  world  of  peace. 
Our  planet  is  red,  but  not  with  war.  Its  red  is  rather  the 
blush  of  the  dawn  that  ushers  in  the  day  of  universal  love. 
My  word  to  men  is  to  expect  the  advent  of  that  day,  and, 
expecting,  to  prepare  for  it.  Useless,  cruel,  inhuman  war 
must  cease,  with  all  strife  and  hatred  and  envy  and  bitter 
feeling;  and  then  shall  you  begin  to  see  the  full  measure  of 
beauty  in  the  song  of  the  angels  of  which  you  have  told 
us,  and  '  Peace  on  earth  '  will  be  a  blessed  fact  and  not  a 
prophecy.  Thorwald,  I  have  finished." 
25 


386  DAYBREAK. 

"  You  have  spoken  well,  Foedric,"  said  Thorwald.  "  And 
now,  what  wise  counsel  will  you  give,  Proctor  ?  " 

"  From  what  I  have  learned  in  regard  to  the  people  of 
the  earth,"  replied  Proctor,  "  it  seems  to  me  they  will  be 
obliged  to  have  a  great  deal  of  war  there  yet — war  against 
a  world  of  evils,  which  must  be  driven  out  with  a  strong 
hand  before  they  can  have  peace.  When  each  individual 
has  subdued  his  own  spirit,  then  there  will  be  no  more  war, 
and  no  other  enemies  to  conquer. 

"  Study  the  majesty  and  power  of  God  as  exhibited 
nightly  in  the  starry  sky,  and  learn  to  revere  a  being  who 
holds  in  his  hands  a  million  worlds,  and  not  only  guides 
their  movements  but  directs  with  a  heart  of  love  the  minut- 
est affairs  of  all  their  inhabitants.  Look  over  the  broad 
field  of  creation,  and  think  of  the  earth,  grand  and  beauti- 
ful as  it  is,  as  only  one  among  the  vast  number  of  peopled 
orbs,  all  swinging  in  unison,  parts  of  one  plan,  every  one 
in  its  day  sending  forth  a  song  of  praise  to  its  maker.  So 
shall  your  hearts  expand  and  burst  the  narrow  bounds  of 
selfish  desire  and  trivial  occupation,  and  you  will  begin  to 
grow  into  the  full  stature  of  the  sons  of  God." 

Proctor  spoke  with  such  feeling  that  the  doctor  and  I 
now  began  to  think  that  these  people  must  be  in  earnest 
and  were  really  preparing  to  send  us  home  in  some  way,  but 
the  latter  idea  was,  as  will  speedily  be  seen,  an  unjust  sus- 
picion. 

"  Zenith,"  said  Thorwald,  "  will  you  take  your  turn,  after 
Proctor's  inspiring  words  ?  " 

"If  we  were  in  truth  making  our  farewells  to  these 
friends,"  replied  Zenith,  "  I  should  feel  more  sadness  than 
I  am  conscious  of  now. 

"  My  message,  O  men,  shall  be  a  plea  for  purity.  If  you 
would  seek  to  make  your  world  the  better  for  your  visit  here. 


A  SUDDEN  RETURN  TO  THE  EARTH.        3S7 

teach  men  everywhere  to  be  pure,  a  hard  lesson  to  learn, 
but  one  that  will  bring  a  rich  reward.  First  make  the 
fountain  sweet.  Be  pure  in  heart,  and  then  your  lives, 
and  even  your  thoughts,  will  be  pure.  When  you  can  fully 
obey  the  command,  '  Think  no  evil,'  you  will  need  no  other 
commandment  to  keep  your  lives  unspotted.  Such  a  require- 
ment no  doubt  seems  too  difficult  for  you  now,  but  the  earth 
must  come  to  its  maturity  by  following  the  same  high  ideal 
which  has  ever  been  set  before  us.  There  is  one  law  for 
all  worlds,  an  infinitely  pure  and  holy  God  commands  us 
all  to  be  perfect  even  as  he  is  perfect,  although  to  that  per- 
fection nor  earth  nor  Mars,  nor,  perhaps,  any  other  world, 
has  yet  attained. 

"  But,  Thorwald,  I  fear  you  will  not  have  time  to  give 
your  farewell  words  before  our  friends  depart." 

"I  shall  not  require  much  time,"  replied  Thorwald, 
"  but  I  should  not  like  to  lose  the  opportunity  of  adding 
something  to  what  has  already  been  said.  I  think  we  have 
been  wise  in  having  this  talk,  for  those  who  could  take 
advantage  of  such  a  novel  way  of  coming  to  us  may  dis- 
cover some  means  of  going  home  again  before  we  suspect 
it." 

Then,  turning  to  us,  Thorwald  continued  : 

"  Go  back  to  the  earth,  my  brothers,  and  tell  men  to 
despair  not  in  their  conflict  with  evil  ;  for  God  reigns,  there- 
fore the  good  will  triumph.  Tell  them  you  found  a  race 
of  happy  beings  here,  not  perfect,  but  aiming  toward  per- 
fection, having  escaped  many  of  the  perils  that  belong  to 
an  earlier  stage  of  existence.  The  earth,  too,  will  one  day 
be  old.  Will  it  be  happy  then  ?  Your  generation  can  help 
to  make  it  so.  With  our  history  to  guide  us,  and  with  the 
knowledge  you  have  given  us  of  the  earth's  present  con- 
dition,   we    have    high    hopes   of    your    race,    and    I  ven- 


38S  DAYBREAK. 

ture  the  prediction  that  your  world  will  see,  in  the  near 
future,  such  an  advance  as  you  have  never  dreamed  of. 
The  era  of  a  united  effort  to  overthrow  the  evil  forces  is 
approaching,  when  all  will  press  with  eager,  sincere  hearts 
into  the  work,  when  money  will  be  poured  out  like  water, 
when  men  will  begin  to  lose  their  selfishness  and  take  each 
other  by  the  hand  as  brothers,  and  when  the  dark  places  of 
the  earth  will  grow  bright  with  the  light  of  the  gospel. 

"  I  do  not  wonder  you  want  to  get  back  there.  I  hope  I 
should  have  the  same  desire  if  I  were  in  your  place.  What 
a  time  in  which  to  live,  with  so  much  good  work  to  do,  and 
such  encouragement  and  sure  reward  !  " 

Thorwald's  enthusiasm  made  him  eloquent,  and  we  all 
regarded  him  intently  as  he  spoke.  How  well  I  remember 
that  group  of  persons :  Proctor,  the  devout  astronomer ; 
the  stalwart  and  earnest  Foedric  ;  Zenith,  the  queen  of  all 
womanly  graces ;  and  Thorwald  himself,  our  friend  and 
brother,  the  rich  fruit  of  an  advanced  development. 

My  companion  and  I  were  deeply  impressed  with  the 
words  we  had  heard,  and  could  hardly  realize  that  these 
friends  were  not  aware  that  our  life  in  Mars  was  nearly 
over,  their  farewells  were  so  genuine. 

But,  hark  !  Thorwald  is  still  speaking : 

"  Go  back  to  the  earth,  I  say,  and — "  a  crash,  a  sensa- 
tion of  falling,  a  dull  pain  in  my  head,  a  new  voice  at  my 
ear,  saying, 

"  Why,  Walter,  are  you  hurt  ?  " 

During  the  effort  to  recover  full  consciousness  I  said  : 

"  There,  Doctor,  the  accident  you  expected  has  certainly 
come." 

And  then  I  opened  my  eyes  and  discovered  that  I  was 
sitting  in  an  undignified  position  on  the  deck  of  a  vessel 
of  some  kind. 


A    SUDDEN    RETURN    TO    THE    EARTH.  389 

Again  the  voice,  now  more  familiar  and  identified  with  a 
lovely  face,  said  : 

"  You  must  have  had  that  broken  chair;  I  knew  it  would 
let  you  down  some  time.     Don't  you  know  me,  Walter  ?  " 

"  Why,  yes,  it's  you,  Margaret,  isn't  it?  But  where's  the 
doctor  ? ' ' 

"Oh,  how  are  you  hurt?"  cried  Margaret  in  alarm. 
**  Tell  me,  and  I  will  run  for  the  doctor  at  once." 

This  conversation  had  all  passed  in  a  moment,  and  by 
the  time  it  was  finished  I  had  extricated  myself  from  the 
broken  chair  with  Margaret's  assistance,  and  was  now  wide 
awake.  I  had  never  expected  to  leave  Mars  without  the 
doctor;  but  now  he  was  gone  with  all  the  rest,  and  I  was 
well  content  to  find  myself  back  by  Margaret's  side,  and  to 
hear  her  pleasant  words,  the  words  of  a  plain  inhabitant  of 
the  earth,  not  too  good  to  love  me  a  little  selfishly.  A 
wave  of  intense  happiness  in  the  possession  of  such  a  love 
passed  over  me.  It  was  a  feeling  I  had  never  before  expe- 
rienced in  my  waking  moments  and  it  must  have  illumined 
my  face,  for  Margaret  continued  : 

"  I  don't  believe  you  are  hurt  at  all.  You  look  too  happy 
to  be  in  pain.  What  have  you  been  dreaming  about,  that 
makes  your  face  shine  so?  How  thankful  I  am  for  this  bright 
moonlight.  I  never  saw  you  have  so  much  expression 
before." 

"Margaret,"  I  replied,  as  soon  as  she  would  let  me 
speak,  "don't  you  remember  you  sent  me  on  a  quest  for 
my  heart  ?  Well,  I  have  found  it  and  brought  it  back  to 
you." 

"  How  lovely  to  find  it  so  soon,"  she  exclaimed;  "  and 
I  know  by  your  looks  it's  a  large  one  and  full  of  love.  But 
tell  me  about  it.     How  did  it  happen  ?  " 

"  Why,  I  fell  in  love  with  a  voice." 


390  DAYBREAK. 

"  With  a  voice  ?     Whose  voice  ?  " 

"  Well,  it  didn't  seem  to  matter  much.  First  it  belonged 
to  Mona  and  then  to  Avis,  and  part  of  the  time  to  both  of 
them." 

"  You  make  me  jealous,"  said  Margaret. 

We  were  now  standing,  hand  in  hand,  leaning  on  the  rail 
of  the  vessel,  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  our  new-found  hap- 
piness. 

"  You  will  not  be  jealous,"  I  answered,  "  when  you  know 
all  about  it.  I  have  enough  to  tell  you,  Margaret,  to 
occupy  a  week,  I  should  think.  I  have  seen  and  heard  a 
great  deal,  and  seemed  to  be  living  amid  other  scenes  for 
many  months,  and  yet  I  notice  the  moon  is  but  two  or  three 
hours  higher  than  when  you  left  me  there  in  the  chair  to  go 
and  find  your  book.  I  shall  take  great  pleasure  in  relating 
to  you  the  entire  experience  when  we  have  time.  Perhaps 
I  will  write  it  out  for  you.  I  have  been  stirred  as  I  never 
expected  to  be,  but  I  assure  you  I  have  brought  back  my 
whole  heart  to  you.  Only,"  I  added,  as  a  sudden  flash  of 
memory  startled  me  with  its  vividness,  "  I  should  like  to 
hear  that  voice  once  more." 

"  Ah,"  said  my  companion,  "  why  do  you  think  of  that 
so  much  ?  I  fear  you  are  not  quite  heart  whole.  What 
was  there  peculiar  about  the  voice  ?  " 

"  Margaret,  it  was  the  most  exquisite  music  anyone  ever 
dreamed  of.  I  cannot  describe  my  emotions  or  the  inten- 
sity of  my  enjoyment  whenever  I  heard  it.  First  the  voice 
belonged  to  a  beautiful  girl  whom  I  thought  we  met  on  the 
moon,  and  who  talked  only  in  the  language  of  the  birds. 
Then  she  went  to  Mars  with  us,  and  there  I  heard  the  same 
sweet  voice  also  from  one  of  the  noble  women  of  that 
happy  planet. 

"  Oh,  what  queer  things  we  do  in  our  sleep,  and  how 


A  SUDDEN  RETURN  TO  THE  EARTH.       391 

supremely  selfish  a  dreamer  is.  I  once  had  a  theory  that 
we  are  all  responsible  for  the  character  of  our  dreams,  but 
I  hope,  my  dear,  that  you  will  not  call  me  to  too  strict  an 
account  in  this  case,  I  should  blush  to  tell  you  how  I  loved 
each  singer,  and  yet  I  know  now  it  was  only  the  voice  that 
charmed  me.  I  shall  seek  my  pillow  with  delight  to-night, 
to  try  and  catch  in  my  sleep  some  faint  echo  of  that  song, 
for  I  never  expect  to  hear  its  like  in  my  waking  hours.  You 
are  laughing  at  me,  and  I  don't  wonder.  Let  me  see.  I 
dreamed  that  I  dreamed  that  you  and  Mona  and  .Avis  were 
all  one  grand,  sweet  singer.  I  wonder  what  would  have 
happened  if  I  had  staid  there  long  enough  to  tell  .\vis  some- 
thing that  was  on  my  mind.  Perhaps  I  never  should  have 
come  away. 

"  But  forgive  me,  dear  Margaret,  for  my  enthusiasm  for 
simply  a  memory,  and  put  the  blame  on  my  sensitive  ears. 
And  now,  tell  me  what  you  have  been  doing  during  these 
long  hours.  Did  you  find  the  professor  and  get  your 
book  ?  ' ' 

"  Yes,  but  I  had  to  stay  a  few  minutes  and  hear  him  talk. 
I  hurried  back,  however,  to  be  with  you,  and  for  my  reward 
found  you  fast  asleep." 

"  I  was  only  dozing.      But  what  did  you  do  then  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  sat  quiet  for  a  while,  and  then  took  up  the  amuse- 
ment I  usually  follow  when  I  find  myself  alone." 

"What  is  that?     Pray  tell." 

"Singing,  of  course." 

"Singing?" 

"  Why,  yes,  didn't  you  know  I  could  sing  ?  " 

"  Do  you  mean  to  say  you  were  singing  all  those  two  or 
three  hours  ?  ' ' 

"  Not  all  the  time,  but  at  intervals.  I  sang  so  loud 
sometimes  that  1  thought  I  should  wake  you." 


392  DAYBREAK. 

**Then,"  I  exclaimed  with  feeling,  "  it  was  you  that  I 
heard.  You  know  my  ears  are  never  fully  asleep.  Mar- 
garet, it  was  your  voice  that  I  have  been  falling  in  love 
with." 

At  this  Margaret  laughed  heartily,  as  she  answered  : 

"  You  have  been  a  good  while  finding  it  out.  I  knew  it 
all  the  time.  That's  what  I  sang  for,  and  I  had  my  pay  as 
I  went  on,  for  every  time  I  began,  whether  soft  or  loud,  I 
could  see  your  face  light  up  with  the  light  of  your  soul,  and 
then  I  knew  my  voice  was  finding  its  way  to  some  corner  of 
your  brain.'.' 

"  How  stupid  of  me,"  I  said,  "  not  to  wake  up  the  very 
first  time  I  heard  you  ;  but  I  thought  it  was  Mona.  Oh,  how 
it  did  thrill  me  !  And  to  think  I  am  to  hear  it  again  when 
I  am  really  awake.  Come,  why  do  we  waste  all  this  time 
in  talking  when  I  have  that  great  happiness  still  unful- 
filled ?     May  I  not  hear  you  sing  now  ?  " 

*'  Oh,  you  might  be  disappointed,  after  all.  My  idea  is 
that  you  enjoyed  my  singing  because  all  your  critical  facul- 
ties were  dulled  in  sleep,  and  you  heard  only  through  your 
heart,  as  it  were.  Don't  you  think  it  would  be  better  to  live 
awhile  on  the  pleasant  memory  you  have  brought  back  with 
you  ? ' ' 

"  Not  at  all.  I  can  retain  the  memory,  and  have  the 
present  happiness  besides." 

"  But  you  said  you  never  expected  to  hear  such  music  in 
your  waking  hours." 

"  Do  not  be  so  cruel,  Margaret,  as  to  recall  those  words 
against  me,  although  they  were  really  a  tribute  to  you,  for 
it  was  your  own  voice  that  forced  me  to  utter  them.  But 
what  can  I  do  to  induce  you  to  sing  ?  " 

"  Go  to  sleep,"  she  replied.  "  I  will  sing  for  you  all 
you  please  when  you  are  asleep,  and  you  can  hear  me  and 


A    SUDDEN    RETURN    TO    THE    EARTH.  393 

think  of  Mona  at  the  same  time.  That  will  be  a  double 
pleasure." 

"  My  dear,  I  prefer  to  think  of  you.  Mona  was  a  beau- 
tiful girl,  but  she  could  never  love  me  as  you  do." 

"  Why  so  ?     Wasn't  her  heart  large  enough  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  was  too  large — so  large  that  she  loved  every- 
body, and  one  no  more  than  another;  while  you,  darling, 
have  chosen  me,  out  of  all  the  i)eoi)le  in  the  world,  as  the 
object  of  your  highest  and  dee])est  love,  and  yet  in  doing 
that  have  only  increased  your  power  of  loving  others.  Now 
what  will  you  do  to  pay  me  for  that  speech  ?  " 

"  Well,  I'll  relent.  But  you  must  at  least  pretend  to  be 
asleep.  Come  back  and  find  another  chair  that  you  can 
rest  in  easily,  and  I  will  sit  beside  you.  There,  that  will 
do.  Now  turn  your  head  away  from  me,  close  your  eyes,  and 
promise  me  you  won't  open  them  till  I  tell  you  to  do  so.  I 
intend  to  have  the  calm  judgment  of  your  ears  uninfluenced 
by  your  sight  or  any  other  sense.  If  you  can  manage  to 
fall  asleep  while  I  am  singing,  so  much  the  better." 

"  Margaret,"  I  replied,  *'  I  shall  try  hard  to  keep  my  eyes 
closed,  but  there  isn't  a  drug  in  the  ship's  dispensary  pow- 
erful enough  to  ])ut  me  to  sleep." 

"  Then  keep  quiet  and  think  of  Mona.  That  will  be  the 
next  best  occupation  for  you.  Stop  laughing,  or  I  shall 
disappoint  you,  after  all.  I  should  think  the  memory  of 
the  first  time  I  sang  for  you  would  be  enough  to  sober  you. 
Now  I  am  going  to  turn  away  my  head,  so  that  if  you  do 
look  around  you  won't  see  my  face." 

I  said  nothing  in  reply,  being  too  eager  to  have  her  begin. 
And  now  I  had  not  long  to  wait  for  the  fulfillment  of  my 
oft-expressed  desire. 

Sweet  and  low  came  the  first  accents  of  her  song,  and, 
with  all  my  anticipations  and  with  the  foretaste  I  had  had  in 


394  DAYBREAK. 

my  sleep,  I  was  not  prepared  for  the  effect  they  had  on  me. 
It  was  Mona's  voice,  but  with  every  fine  quality  so  exagger- 
ated that  all  my  faculties,  now  in  the  fullest  sense  awake, 
were  completely  taken  captive.  I  made  no  movement, 
except  to  turn  my  head  slightly  so  that  I  might  drink  in 
the  sweet  sounds  with  both  ears.  As  the  notes  increased  in 
volume  my  pleasure  grew  to  rapture.  Not  only  was  my 
critical  taste  fully  satisfied,  which  of  itself  was  almost 
bliss,  but  that  other  and  higher  effect  followed — my  heart 
was  enlisted.  I  had  never  known  love  till  that  hour.  We 
had  been  introduced  to  each  other  years  ago  and  had  kept 
up  a  cold  and  formal  acquaintance,  and  in  my  recent  sleep 
we  had  made  notable  progress,  but  only  now  did  love  and  I 
really  clasp  hands  in  a  warm  and  lasting  embrace. 

If  I  had  loved  Margaret  before,  then  the  feeling  I  now 
had  was  something  else,  it  was  so  different.  But  it  was 
nothing  else,  and,  therefore,  I  was  obliged  to  conclude  that 
I  had  lived  all  these  years  with  a  false  notion  in  my  head. 
As  the  song  changed  now  and  then,  but  did  not  stop,  my 
heart  swelled  with  its  strong  emotion,  and  I  had  the  greatest 
difficulty  to  keep  my  promise  and  remain  quiet.  At  length 
the  music  ceased,  and  I  jumped  from  my  chair  with  the 
intention  of  giving  Margaret  some  palpable  sign  of  my  new 
love,  when  I  was  arrested  by  her  warning  hand  and  these 
words  : 

"  Wait,  Walter,  someone  is  coming.  I  can  see  all  you 
want  to  tell  me  in  your  face." 

I  was  obliged  to  stop,  and  reserve  for  a  more  private  place 
any  violent  manifestation  of  my  exuberant  affection,  but 
answered  quietly  : 

"  Not  all,  dear  Margaret.  You  will  never  know  all  my 
love." 

There  was  now  more  or  less  passing  back  and  forth  by  the 


A  SUDDEN  RETURN  TO  THE  EARTH.        395 

passengers,  preparing  for  the  approaching  landing,  but  yet 
we  were  able  to  continue  our  conversation.  At  Margaret's 
request  I  told  her  more  about  Mona  and  Avis,  and  the  prin- 
cipal incidents  of  what  seemed  to  me  a  real  experience, 
reserving  the  graver  parts  of  the  story  for  other  occasions. 
Her  sympathies  went  out  ])articularly  towanl  Mona,  and 
suggested  the  (question  : 

"  Did  not  the  poor  child  recover  her  voice  ?  " 

"  I  think  she  did  soon  after  we  left,"  I  replied.  "  I 
neglected  to  tell  you  that,  the  morning  we  started  for  our 
last  aerial  trip,  Antonia  told  me  she  was  teaching  Mona  the 
use  of  the  vocal  organs,  and  the  results  were  already  such 
that  she  believed  she  would  in  a  short  time  be  entirely 
successful." 

"  How  fortunate  for  me,"  said  Margaret,  laughing,  "  that 
you  came  away  just  then." 

"  Oh,  Margaret,"  I  exclaimed  as  loud  as  I  dared,  "  I 
thought  I  was  hapjiy  last  night,  but  what  shall  I  call  my 
condition  now  ?  Do  you  have  that  intensity  of  feeling  for 
me  which  is  nearly  bursting  my  heart  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  dear,  I  have  had  it  for  years.  But  my  love  is 
certainly  increasing  now,  when  I  see  yours  flowering  out  so 
luxuriantly." 

In  such  sweet  converse  the  time  passed  rapidly.  Steadily 
our  noble  vessel  carried  us  every  moment  nearer  home. 
And  with  the  last  words  of  Thorwald,  "  Go  back  to 
the  earth,"  still  ringing  in  my  ears,  we  steamed  amid 
familiar  scenes — the  lights  from  Long  Island,  New  Jersey, 
Staten  Island,  and  soon  Liberty's  torch.  Governor's  Island, 
and  the  great  city  in  front  of  us.  This  voyage  was  ended, 
but  our  life's  voyage  seemed  to  be  just  beginning  as  I  led 
Margaret  forth  with  wonderful  tenderness  and  whispered  in 
her  ear,  passionately,  the  magic  words,  "  I  love  you." 


POSTSCRIPT. 

Every  book  should  have  a  purpose.  Notwithstanding 
the  popular  character  of  much  that  is  contained  in  these 
pages,  the  purpose  of  this  volume  is  a  serious  one. 

I  acquired  the  belief  in  the  habitability  of  other  worlds 
when  quite  young,  and  it  long  ago  grew  into  a  settled  con- 
viction. 

Firmly  held  by  this  idea,  what  is  called  the  astronomical 
difficulty  in  theology  gave  me  great  concern.  When  I 
considered  the  vast  extent  of  the  universe,  and  saw,  with  but 
little  imagination,  millions  on  millions  of  habitable  worlds, 
I  felt  the  force  of  the  old  objection.  How  could  our  tiny 
earth  have  been  chosen  for  such  peculiar  and  high  honor 
as  we  read  of  in  the  gospel  story  ? 

Thomas  Chalmers,  in  the  preface  to  his  astronomical 
discourses,  states  the  difficulty  in  these  words  :  "  This  argu- 
ment involves  in  it  an  assertion  and  an  inference.  The  asser- 
tion is,  that  Christianity  is  a  religion  which  professes  to  be 
designed  for  the  single  benefit  of  our  world;  and  the  infer- 
ence is,  that  God  cannot  be  the  author  of  this  religion,  for 
he  would  not  lavish  on  so  insignificant  a  field  such  peculiar 
and  such  distinguishing  attentions  as  are  ascribed  to  him 
in  the  Old  and  New  Testaments." 

And  then  Dr.  Chalmers  proceeds  in  his  able  manner  to 
overthrow  both  assertion  and  inference.  He  shows  that  it  is 
only  presumption  for  the  infidel  to  claim  that  Christianity 


POSTSCRIPT.  397 

is  designed  solely  for  this  world,  and  asks  how  he  is  able  to 
tell  us,  "  that  if  you  go  to  other  planets,  the  person  and 
religion  of  Jesus  are  there  unknown  to  them."  "  For  any- 
thing he  [the  infidel]  can  tell,"  the  writer  continues,  "  the 
redemption  proclaimed  to  us  is  not  one  solitary  instance, 
or  not  the  whole  of  that  redemption  which  is  by  the  Son  of 
God;  .  .  .  the  moral  pestilence,  which  walks  abroad 
over  the  face  of  our  world,  may  have  spread  its  desolation 
over  all  the  planets  of  all  the  systems  which  the  telescope 
has  made  known  to  us.  .  .  .  The  eternal  Son,  of  whom 
it  is  said  that  by  him  the  worlds  were  created,  may  have 
had  the  government  of  many  sinful  worlds  laid  upon  his 
shoulders." 

In  this  and  in  all  the  rest  of  his  argument  Dr.  Chalmers, 
while  intimating  that  the  redemption  may  include  other 
worlds,  retains  the  belief  that  the  actual  occurrences  related 
in  the  gospel  took  place  only  on  this  globe.  Others  may 
have  heard  the  story,  or,  as  he  beautifully  says  :  "  The  won- 
der-working God,  who  has  strewed  the  field  of  immensity 
with  so  many  worlds,  and  spread  the  shelter  of  his  omnipo- 
tence over  them,  may  have  sent  a  message  of  love  to  each, 
and  reassured  the  hearts  of  its  despairing  people  by  some 
overpowering  manifestation  of  tenderness.  .  .  .  Angels 
from  paradise  may  have  sped  to  every  planet  their  delegated 
way,  and  sung  from  each  azure  canopy  a  joyful  annuncia- 
tion, and  said,  '  Peace  be  to  this  residence  and  good  will 
to  all  its  families,  and  glory  to  Him  in  the  highest,  who 
from  the  eminence  of  his  throne  has  issued  an  act  of  grace 
so  magnificent  as  to  carry  the  tidings  of  life  and  of 
acceptance  to  the  unnumbered  orbs  of  a  sinful  crea- 
tion.' " 

But,  as  Dr.  Chalmers  truthfully  says,  it  is  not  the  infidel 
alone  that  raises  this  question.     It  is  asked  by  many  sin- 


398  POSTSCRIPT. 

cere  believers,  generally  in  communion  with  their  own 
minds,  and  has  disturbed,  if  not  hindered,  their  faith. 
These  brilliant  discourses  left  me  still  perplexed  on  the 
main  point,  and  I  was  forced  to  ask  myself  again  if  it  was 
at  all  likely  that  one  world  could  be  made  so  unlike  all 
others  as  to  become  the  only  scene  of  such  a  wonderful 
event  as  the  death  of  the  Son  of  God.  And  even  if  this  could 
be  made  to  seem  probable,  what  an  infinitesimal  chance 
there  would  be  that  our  earth  would  be  the  one  chosen  for 
this  exhibition,  out  of  the  unnumbered  worlds  that  fill  the 
immensity  of  space. 

As  a  feeble  hint  toward  a  possible  solution  of  this  diffi- 
culty, this  volume  is  offered.  The  argument  may  not  be 
acceptable  to  a  single  reader.  I  do  not  say  that  I  believe 
it  myself;  but  the  thought  has  helped  to  satisfy  my  mind 
and  may  be  of  assistance  to  some  other  soul.  I  will  merely 
say  that,  of  course,  I  do  not  believe  the  analogy  between 
any  two  worlds  is  so  close  as  I  have  made  it,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  the  story,  between  Mars  and  the  earth. 

In  my  effort  to  relieve  the  book  of  dullness,  I  have 
exaggerated  some  of  the  situations,  as  in  the  treatment 
of  the  woman  question  for  example,  but  the  intelligent 
reader  will  easily  discover  whether  there  be  anything  of 
value  remaining  after  the  extravagance  has  been  brushed 
away. 

Alvan  Clark  &  Sons,  the  celebrated  makers  of  tele- 
scopic lenses,  in  view  of  their  recent  successes  in  casting 
larger  object-glasses  than  was  once  thought  possible,  now 
assert  that  they  can  place  no  limit  to  the  size  these  glasses 
may  reach  in  the  future.  It  is  only  a  question  of  time, 
skill,  patience,  and  money. 

Is  it,  then,  presumptuous  to  believe  that  the  day  will  dawn 
when  this  world  will  know  whether  Venus  or  Mars  is  inhab- 


POSTSCRIPT.  399 

ited  ?  And  if  either  or  both  of  them  shall  be  found  to 
be  peopled,  among  the  many  questions  of  engrossing  inter- 
est to  be  studied  it  seems  clear  to  me  that  the  most  impor- 
tant will  be  the  moral  and  spiritual  condition  of  the 
inhabitants. 

The  Author. 


